Abstract:
Scorpions have always been a neglected group of arthropods from scientific inquiry
point of view although they are medically important because of their venom. India has a
huge diversity of scorpion fauna yet effective assessment of the available diversity has
not been performed. Periodic taxonomic revisions are not undertaken and till date,
archaic methods of identification are practiced. Only a handful of studies have looked at
the evolutionary relationships of scorpions in India. India is the abode of ‘The Indian
Red Scorpion (Hottentotta tamulus)’, a scorpion species regarded as the most
venomous scorpion and medicinally very important, yet a thorough venom analysis for
this species is not done. In this effect, the current study deals with three aspects,
namely (1) A general overview of molecular phylogeny of scorpions in Indian peninsula
using the mitochondrial barcoding gene cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI), (2)
population genetics and morphometric analysis of H. tamulus from regions with high
rainfall, moderate rainfall and dry regions and (3) preliminary analysis to characterize
venom of H.tamulus from different populations to understand population variation. Total
196 samples were collected out of which genetic analysis was successful for 67
samples. I provide first genetic characterization of Heterometrus phipsoni of the family
Scorpionidae and Chiromachetes sahyadriensis of family Hormuridae along with several
species from family Buthidae. Genetic analysis suggests that there are several
taxonomic issues with the species of Lychas, Isometrus and Hottentotta, which are
likely to harbour undescribed species. Population Genetics study was carried out by
studying haplotype diversity in barcoding COI gene. In population genetics study,
H.tamulus formed three groups corresponding to high rainfall area on the western side
of Western Ghats, the moderate rainfall area on eastern side of Western Ghats and dry
region. There are various genetic mutations in samples from different H. tamulus
populations, yet they code for protein with same amino acid sequence except for a few
samples. Even though there is variation in populations of H. tamulus, there seems to be
presence of conserved peptides in their venom concoctions. Further investigation is
required to ascertain the exact nature and composition of venom
