Urophonius transandinus sp nov (Bothriuridae), a scorpion from Central Chile

Urophonius transandinus, new species belonging in the brachycentrus species-group is described. It can be separated from other species in the group by the pigmentation pattern of mesosoma and ventral side of metasoma, the number of pectinal teeth, and the arrangement of the ventral submedian keels of caudal segment I. Additionally, hemispermatophores of the new species lack a posterodistal fold (present in the rest). Records of U. transandinus sp.nov. come from the Chilean provinces Valparaiso, San Antonio, San Felipe de Aconcagua, Santiago and Cordillera. The probable zoogeographical links of Central Chile and the "peripampasic track" (Argentina - Uruguay southern Brazil), as suggested by the geonemy of the brachycentrus group, are discussed.