| Abstract |
The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of the scorpions in the central and eastern Mediterranean region and to analyse the phenologies and the community structure of the scorpions of Crete and Gavdos. For the study of the distributions, the area studied was the Mediterranean region from Italy and Tunisia to Caucasus and western Middle East. It was selected for several reasons: ¨ Greece and adjacent countries belong to this area ¨ It has complex geological history ¨ It is comprised by many ecologically isolated areas (islands, high mountains, deserts) ¨ It is located at the borders of three continents (Africa, Asia, Europe) ¨ Few previous studies have been made The data for this approach came from literature, from the Natural History Museum of Crete, from the Zoological Museum of the University of Athens, from samples collected for Ph. D or M. Sc. Theses and from personal samplings. For each of the 43 species recorded, the synonyms, the specific sites as well as maps of their distribution are cited. Buthidae, Scorpionidae, Diplocentridae, Chactidae and Iuridae are the families that are found in this region. In Greece there are 7 species: Mesobuthus gibbosus (Buthidae), Iurus dufoureius, Iurus asiaticus and Paraiurus nordmanni (Iuridae), Euscorpius carpathicus, Euscorpius italicus and Euscorpius mingrelicus (Chactidae). The Paleoeremic zoogeographic element seems to dominate in the families Buthidae and Scorpionidae, while the Palaearctic dominates in the Diplocentridae and Chactidae. The family Iuridae is a special case, which needs more study, although it also seems to be of Palearctic character. The distribution of the species of those families has been particularly affected by the geological history of the area, while the borders of their distributions are defined by their different ecological demands. For the phenological analysis of the scorpiofauna of Crete and Gavdos, data from monthly or every two months samplings on Crete and from seasonal samplings in Gavdos were used. 20 sites were studied in total: four different altitudes on the White Mountains (Crete) (800 m, 1200 m, 1650 m and 2100 m), seven from western Crete, one from eastern Crete and eight from Gavdos. The biotope selection and the co-existence of the species as well as the phenology of males and females of each species were studied. The results from this study were the following: There are three species in Crete (Euscorpius carpahicus, Mesobuthus gibbosus and Iurus dufoureius) and two (Euscorpius carpathicus and Iurus dufoureius) in Gavdos. E. carpathicus is more hydrophilic than M. gibbosus, so E. carpathicus appears in higher densities in wetter places. Moreover, due to its cold hardiness, it can survive at high altitudes (1650 m and 2100 m) and shift its activity towards autumn. By this adaptation, it probably avoids the bigger and more aggresive M. gibbosus, which might prey on it. M. gibbosus is thermophylic and xerophylic, it appears in high densities in, both, Crete and Gavdos and the peak of its activity is in summer. I. dufoureius prefers rather wet biotops with dense vegetation. Its activity is very limited, which means either that its population is very small or that it is an obligate fossorial animal that comes on the surface of the ground very rarely. The reproductive period of all the species is signaled by the peak of the activity of the males, which come on the surface searching for a mate. The gestation and the birth periods seem to vary among the species.
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