| Rhopalurus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Rhopalurus laticauda | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Scorpiones |
| Family: | Buthidae |
| Genus: | Rhopalurus |
Rhopalurus is a genus of scorpions belonging to the Buthidae family. This genus was described in 1876 by Tord Thorell.[1]
Distribution
Rhopalurus is primarily distibuted in the Cerrados and Caatingas formations of central and northeastern Brazil. One species is also known from a savannah formation inside oriental Amazonia.[2] Three species are known from the savannahs of the Guayana Region, Venezuela. One species is also found in the Llanos de Orinoco, Venezuela, and one in the Llanos Orientales, Colombia[3][4]
Species
The following species are assigned to this genus:[5]
- Rhopalurus acromelas Lutz & Mello, 1922
- Rhopalurus amazonicus Lourenço, 1986
- Rhopalurus bonetti Armas, 1999
- Rhopalurus borellii Pocock, 1902
- Rhopalurus brejo Lourenço, 2014
- Rhopalurus caribensis Teruel & Roncallo, 2008
- Rhopalurus crassicauda Di Caporiacco, 1947
- Rhopalurus danieli Prado & Rios-Patino, 1940
- Rhopalurus dorsomaculatus Prado, 1938
- Rhopalurus goiasensis Prado, 1940
- Rhopalurus iglesiasi Werner, 1927
- Rhopalurus lambdophorus Mello-Leitão, 1932
- Rhopalurus laticauda Thorell, 1876
- Rhopalurus melleipalpus Lutz & Mello, 1922
- Rhopalurus ochoai Esposito, Yamaguti, Souza, Pinto da Rocha & Prendini, 2017
- Rhopalurus piceus Lourenço & Pinto-da-Rocha, 1997
- Rhopalurus renelauerae Lourenço, 2016
- Rhopalurus rochai Borelli, 1910
- Rhopalurus virkkii Santiago-Blay, 2009
Former species
- Rhopalurus junceus - moved to Heteroctenus junceus
References
- Thorell, T. (January 1876). "I.— On the classification of Scorpions". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 17 (97): 1–15. doi:10.1080/00222937608681889. ISSN 0374-5481.
- Lourenço, Wilson (2016-01-06). "The geographic pattern of distribution of the genus Rhopalurus Thorell, 1876 in the Guayana-Amazon region (Scorpiones: Buthidae)". Euscorpius. 2008 (73): 1–14. doi:10.18590/euscorpius.2008.vol2008.iss73.1. ISSN 1536-9307.
- Lourenço, Wilson (1986). "Biogéographie et phylogénie des scorpions du genre Rhopalurus Thorell, 1876 (Scorpiones, Buthidae)" (PDF). Mémoires de la Société Royale Belge d'Entomologie. 33: 129–137.
- Teruel, Rolando; Roncallo, César (2016-01-06). "Rare or poorly known scorpions from Colombia. III. On the taxonomy and distribution of Rhopalurus laticauda Thorell, 1876 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), with description of a new species of the genus". Euscorpius. 2008 (68): 1–12. doi:10.18590/euscorpius.2008.vol2008.iss68.1. ISSN 1536-9307.
- "Rhopalurus Thorell, 1876". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 12 January 2026.