#scorpiones

[snototter]

A scorpion (Pseudouroctonus sp.) in New Mexico, USA

by Alan Cressler

[dailybugfacts]

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TODAY'S FACT IS

Did you know that the Southern Devil Scorpion (Vaejovis carolinianus) is a small scorpion found in the southeastern US? They can squeeze into small areas, including under doors, and will wander in all sorts of places looking for food. Barring a significant allergy, these scorpions can't hurt you any more than a bee sting would. Like all scorpions, they give live birth (up to 26 at a time, yeesh) and momma scorp will carry her little scorplings on her back.

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Photo by Kim Fleming

[uncharismatic-fauna]

The Details of the Devil Scorpion

The devil scorpion, or stripe-tailed scorpion (Paravaejovis spinigerus) is a species of scorpion native to the Sonoran Desert in North America. It is found in a variety of habitats, including sandy soil and rocky canyons, and particularly prefers to hide under logs or in tight crevices. They may also be found in residential areas, particularly in dark cool areas such as basements or sheds.

Stripe-tailed scorpions can reproduce sexually or asexually. When males encounter females, they court by dancing around each other; but if the male dances longer than the female, she will attack and eat him. If females go for a long period without encountering a male mate, her eggs will mature without fertilization and all her offspring will be female clones of herself. In either case, the female carries embryos for 3-8 months and gives birth to a live clutch of up to 100 babies. If the mother chooses to care for them, instead of eating them, they will stay on her back for an additional 2-3 weeks before dispersing.

Devil scorpions are quite large, with adults reaching 6-7 cm (2.3-2.7 in) in length and weighing up to 9.5 g (0.3 oz). Females are differentiated from males by their fatter "swollen" abdomen. Adults have a brown or tan head, arms, and tail and a black body with thin brown stripes.

Like most scorpions, P. spinigerus is a carnivore. They predate on insects and smaller scorpions, which they hunt almost exclusively at night. They themselves are prey for a variety of predators including snakes, spiders, centipedes, lizards, birds, and larger scorpions. They are able to defend themselves with the venomous sting in their tail, although the venom is not significantly harmful to humans.

Conservation status: The devil scorpion has not been rated by the IUCN. Due to their large range, they are considered relatively stable, and they are moderately adapted to survive in urban areas.

Photos

Matt Felperin

Andrew Meeds

Bill Hubick

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Arachnida - Scorpiones

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Order: Scorpiones

Common Name: “scorpions”

Families: 20 - Pseudochactidae, Buthidae (“thick-tailed scorpions”, “arrowbreasted scorpions”), Chaerilidae, Belisariidae, Chactidae (“fatclaw scorpions”), Euscorpiidae (“shorttail scorpions”), Superstitioniidae (“Superstition Mountains Scorpion”), Troglotayosicidae, Typhlochactidae, Vaejovidae, Caraboctonidae (“hairy scorpions”), Hadruridae (“giant hairy scorpions”), Iuridae, Bothriuridae, Hemiscorpiidae, Hormuridae, Rugodentidae, Scorpionidae (“largeclaw scorpions”), Diplocentridae (“spinysting scorpions”), and Heteroscorpionidae

Anatomy: cephalothorax with a carapace; two eyes on the top of the cephalothorax, usually two to five pairs of eyes along the front corners of the cephalothorax; chelicerae (mouthparts) are pincer-like and have three segments and "teeth"; pedipalps are adapted into pinching chelae; five segmented “tail”, or metasoma, with a telson that contains a symmetrical pair of venom glands and bears a curved stinger, equipped with sensory hairs

Diet: mainly insects and other invertebrates; some larger species may also take small vertebrates

Habitat: all continents except Antarctica; mainly live in deserts but some have adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions

Evolved in: Early Silurian

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While unable to form sharp images, the central eyes of scorpions are amongst the most light sensitive in the animal kingdom, especially in dim light, which makes it possible for nocturnal species to use starlight to navigate at night.

Scorpions can also detect light through sensors in their tail.

Scorpion claws and tails are reinforced with iron and nickel.

Scorpion courtship involves a “dance” where the male and female grasp each other’s chelae (“pinchers”). This is called promenade à deux (French for "a walk for two"). In this dance, the male and female move around while facing each other, as the male searches for a suitable place to deposit his spermatophore. The courtship ritual can involve several other behaviors such as a cheliceral kiss, in which the male and female grasp each other's mouthparts, arbre droit ("upright tree") where the partners elevate their posteriors and rub their tails together, and sexual stinging, in which the male stings the female to calm her. The dance may take minutes to hours long. When the male has located a suitably stable surface, he deposits the spermatophore and guides the female over it. This allows the spermatophore to enter the female's genital opercula, which triggers release of the sperm, thus fertilizing the female.

All known species of scorpion give live birth, a rare trait among arachnids, and the female cares for the young as their exoskeletons harden, transporting them on her back for safety.

Like many other arachnids, scorpion exoskeletons contains fluorescent chemicals that glow under ultraviolet light, but scorpions are known for being especially vibrant (see gif above)

Hadrurus species dig burrows over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) deep.

While most scorpions are solitary, only coming together to mate, some species are more social. Species of the family Buthidae are often found in the same shelter and Bark Scorpions (genus Centruroides) may gather in groups of up to 30 individuals. In some species, families of females and her young sometimes live together even after the young have “weaned”.

Though scorpions prefer areas where the temperature remains in the range of 11–40 °C (52–104 °F), they may survive temperatures from well below freezing to desert heat. The Deathstalker (Leiurus quinquestriatus), Large-clawed Scorpion (Scorpio maurus), and Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion (Hadrurus arizonensis) can live in temperatures of 45 – 50 °C (113 – 122 °F) if they are sufficiently hydrated. Desert species must deal with the extreme changes in temperature from sunrise to sunset or between seasons: Pectinibuthus birulai lives in a temperature range of −30 – 50 °C (−22 – 122 °F).

Scorpions have immunity to ionizing radiation and have survived nuclear tests in Algeria and Nevada.

The immune system of scorpions is strong enough to resist several types of bacterial infections.

The vast majority of scorpion species are not a threat to humans, and healthy adults usually do not need medical treatment after a sting. People with allergies are especially at risk, but otherwise symptoms typically last no more than two days for non-deadly species. About 25 species (fewer than 1%) have venom capable of killing a human. Unfortunately, these species live where access to medical treatment is unlikely.

Venom takes a lot of energy to make, and is necessary for hunting, so scorpions will usually use it as a last resort defense. When threatened, they will raise their claws and tail in a defensive posture first. Some species stridulate to warn off predators by rubbing certain hairs, their stinger, or the pectines. Some species prefer to use their pinchers as their next line of defense before resorting to their sting, depending on the size of the appendages.

Scorpion venom is a mixture of neurotoxins. Many of them interfere with membrane channels that transport sodium, potassium, calcium, or chloride ions. These channels are essential for nerve conduction, muscle contraction and many other biological processes. Some of these molecules may be useful in medical research and might lead to the development of new disease treatments. Among their potential therapeutic uses are as analgesic, anti-cancer, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antiparasitic, bradykinin-potentiating, and immunosuppressive drugs. As of 2020, no scorpion toxin-based drug is for sale, though chlorotoxin is being trialled for use against glioma, a brain cancer.

The pet trade has threatened wild populations of some scorpion species, particularly the Yellow Fat-tailed Scorpion (Androctonus australis) and the Emperor Scorpion (Pandinus imperator).

The scorpion is a significant animal in many cultures. One of the earliest occurrences of the scorpion in culture is its inclusion as Scorpio in the 12 signs of the Zodiac by Babylonian astronomers during the Chaldean period. In ancient Egypt, the goddess Serket, who protected the Pharaoh, was often depicted as a scorpion. In Greek mythology, Artemis or Gaia sent a giant scorpion named Scorpius to kill the hunter Orion, who had said he would kill all the world's animals. Orion and the scorpion both became constellations: as enemies they were placed on opposite sides of the world, so when one rises in the sky, the other sets.

[every-day-creechur]

Centruroides fallassisimus

A species of bark scorpion found in Guatemala.

image by John Sullivan

[toothfairyinc]

3.5 inch scorpion i caught a couple days ago btw

i have it next to my shoe for comparison i did kot squash him

[coffeenuts]