Fat Tailed Scorpion

Order                           Family                         Genus and Species

Scorpiones                    Buthidae                       Androctonus australis

Scorpions are creatures who have remained unchanged in general structure for over 400
million years and are found in a variety of places.....from the mountainous regions of Africa
to the desert wastelands of the southwestern United States and especially in Arizona and
New Mexico, although they are also found in parts of California and southern parts of the
United States.

The fat-tailed scorpion, which is one of the larger species of scorpion, can be found in Africa,
(Israel, Egypt, Libia, etc.)  This particular species is interesting because it has an especially
potent venom which is injected into victims by the sharp pointed tip of it's large tail.  This venom
has been compared to a cobra's in strength and paralyzing abilities and numerous human deaths
have been caused by it's sting.

There are over 800 species of scorpions in existence with most of them living in humid, tropical
regions of the earth.  There are around 40 known species of scorpion which can be found in
North America and only two species, both found in Mexico,  have a venom potent enough to
cause death in humans.

Above is an Arizona Devil Scorpion, found mainly in Arizona although it is also located in
the California desert and parts of New Mexico.  It is very similar to the fat-tailed scorpion
but is a little darker in color, lacks the huge bulbous tail attachment, and has a sting which
is much less dangerous than the fat-tailed variety.

Scorpions range in weight from 0.2 ounce to around 5-6 ounces.  The largest scorpion in the
world is the Lobster scorpion of Sumatra which grows to a length of over 8 inches with the
next largest being the Emperor scorpion of Africa which is slightly less than 8 inches long.

Most scorpions reach sexual maturity in a time frame of between 1 and 3 years with a
gestation period of around 6 months.  Young scorpions are carried and nourished inside the
body of the female and after birth, the young scramble onto their mothers back and remain
there for a week or so....until they are strong enough to pursue their own prey.

Located in the above graphic is a nest of Emperor scorpions.  These dark, metallic looking
scorpions are found in Africa and at around 8 inches long and weighing in at between 3 and
5 ounces, are one of the two biggest species of scorpion.

Scorpions eat small beetles, roaches, arachnids and other small insects.  They derive most of
their water from the carcasses of their victims but prefers plain water, when available.  These
creatures can often go a long time without food but require water at regular intervals.  Their
lifespan is around 2.5 to 5 years in the wild, but have lived for over 6 years in a cool, sheltered
environment.

Notice the huge pincers of the fat-tailed scorpion in the above graphic.  These are used to hold
their prey while their sharp toothed jaws shred the insects body into small enough pieces to ingest
and absorb.  These pincers are also called Pedipalps.

Although the scorpion has rather poor vision, it still is a formidable predator.  It lays in wait for
suitable prey and relies on the minute vibrations given off by by the insect to home in on the poor
hapless victim.  Most of the scorpions hunting is done at night with the majority of it's day being
spent in trying to stay cool.  It accomplishes this by crawling under rocks or into caves and other
shady environments.

It is best to avoid scorpions even though most of the species found in North America do not have
a strong enough venom to kill a human being who is in reasonably good physical shape.  The most
important thing to remember about scorpions is that the larger the pedipalps ( pincers), the less
potent the venom.....so if you run across a scorpion with small, almost puny looking pincers, run..
do not walk......do not pass go......do not collect $200.00 dollars......just run.

Although scorpions are found everywhere in the world except Antarctica, the main concentrations
are shaded in red in the following graphic.

Be sure to check back next month for February's "Creature of the Month" The King Cobra.

                                                                              HOMEPAGE