Yellow six-eyed creature found under stones in Turkey forest. It’s a new species
In an “artificial forest” of southwestern Turkey, a yellow-tinged creature tucked itself under a rock. Its six eyes scanned the surrounding pine needles, but it wasn’t the only one looking around.
Visiting scientists found the lurking animal — and discovered a new species.
Ersen Yağmur and Halil Yaylı visited a forest in Hüyük District several times in the spring to survey wildlife, they wrote in a study published Sept. 14 in the peer-reviewed journal Euscorpios.
During the fieldwork, researchers found something “unexpected:” dozens and dozens of unfamiliar scorpions, the study said. They caught over 100 specimens and, after taking a closer look, quickly realized they’d discovered a new species: Alpiscorpius huyukensis, or the Hüyük scorpion.
Hüyük scorpions are considered “moderately sized,” reaching about 1 inch in length, the study said. They have six eyes, a textured body and eight “pale yellow” legs.
Photos show the “yellowish orange to greyish orange” coloring of the new species. Its pincers and tail are a slightly darker brown than the rest of its body.
Hüyük scorpions were found in “a dense red pine forest” with “numerous stones and several large rocks,” researchers said. The scorpions were “abundant beneath stones within the leaf litter.”
The habitat was an “artificial forest,” but researchers said they “do not consider the new species to be introduced. It was probably displaced from a nearby natural forest to the treeplanted area.”
Researchers said they named the new species after Hüyük District where it was first discovered and, so far, the only place where it has been found. Hüyük is in southwestern Turkey and a roughly 370-mile drive southeast from Istanbul.
The new species was identified by its size, coloring, texture, the shape of its appendages and other subtle physical features, the study said. Researchers did not include a DNA analysis of the new species.
