ScorpionsStuff you never knew

about Scorpions

Scorpions

• Scorpions are the oldest known terrestrial arthropods

• Fossil scorpions were found in Paleozoic rocks that were 430 million years old (long before the time of the dinosaurs)!

• These fossils are over three feet long! The ancient scorpions are thought to have been amphibious or wholly aquatic.

Class Arachnida• They are venomous arthropods of the

Class Arachnida, relatives of spiders, mites, and ticks.

• Given the class they are in, would you consider them to be an insect?

NO--INSECTS ARE IN THE CLASS INSECTA

Scorpion Anatomy

• The stinger at the end of the tail injects a paralyzing poison into the prey.

• Unlike other arachnids, scorpions have large, pincer-like pedipalps, used to grab and subdue prey.

Scorpion Anatomy

• If scorpions are in the same class as spiders, how many legs do they have?

Scorpions have eight legs!

Scorpion Anatomy• Scorpions in general have three to five sets

of eyes. • Some species of cave- and litter-dwelling

scorpions, however, have no eyes!

• The eyes are very sensitive: some think they even allow the scorpion to navigate by star light.

What do scorpions eat?

RodentsLizards

Spiders Other Scorpions

Insects

A Hibernating Scorpion?

• To conserve energy in times of famine, scorpions can slow down their metabolism. Certain scorpions can survive almost a year without food, and they can even hibernate.

Do Scorpions Drink Water?

• They get all the water they need from their food.

No!

Enemies

• Shrews, snakes, owls, centipedes, tarantulas, bats, and other scorpions prey on scorpions.

Is It Normal to See Scorpions During the Day?

• Scorpions are sensitive to light, so they are primarily nocturnal.

If you said no, pat yourself on the back.

How Do Scorpions Catch Their Prey?

• When potential prey passes by, it creates vibrations the scorpion can sense.

• They can quickly strike with the stinger or grasp the prey with their claws.

Sensing Vibrations

• Scorpions have tiny sensory hairs on their legs that detect touch, temperature, and other information, just like a cat’s whiskers!

• Similar to the way seismologists locate earthquakes, scorpions determine the size and location of a meal by measuring subsurface vibrations.

Do Scorpions Live in Families?

• A few scorpions exhibit social behaviors, such as searching for food together, colonial burrowing, and even living in an extended family.

YES!

Scorpion Reproduction

• All scorpions are viviparous. Do you know what that means?

•The mother scorpion can give birth to about 35 young, which are ½ inch in length.

They give live birth, like humans!

Scorpion Babies• She assists them by

making a "birth basket" with her folded legs to catch them as they are born and to provide them with a means to climb to her back.

• The mother cares for the young until the babies are old enough to hunt on their own.

What is the biggest scorpion of all?

• The black emperor scorpion is the biggest scorpion of all.

• It weighs about as much as a hard-boiled egg and is about 8 inches long.

• The longest recorded scorpion in the world was 8.5 inches in length!

Where can you find scorpions?

• Scorpions are known to be desert creatures.

• They can also be found in the sea, in the mountains, in the tropics, and in caves

Where on earth are scorpions found?

• What is the only continent that scorpions are NOT found on?

Antarctica!

Scorpion Venom

• Do Scorpions Sting or Bite?

If you said Sting, you are absolutely right!

• The stinger on the end of their tail carries their venom.

Scorpion Venom

• Scorpions use their venom to kill or paralyze their prey so it can be eaten.

• Scorpion venoms are complex mixtures of neurotoxins and other substances; each species has a unique mixture.

Neurotoxins

• What part of the body do neurotoxins affect?

The nervous system! This includes your brain, spinal cord, and nerves.

Scorpion Poison

• The sting of most scorpions can be very painful, like a bee sting, although most are not lethal.

• Only 25 of 1500 species of scorpions in the world are deadly to humans, including Arizona’s bark scorpion.

Deadliest Scorpion

• Where do you think the most deadly scorpion is found?

If you said Africa, you are correct! The most dangerous scorpion lives in the Sahara desert in Northern

Africa.

Suicide Myth• There is a belief that scorpions

commit suicide by stinging themselves to death when surrounded by fire. IS THIS TRUE?

•The myth may derive from the fact that scorpions are ectotherms; when exposed to intense heat their body malfunctions. This causes the scorpion to spasm wildly and can accidentally sting itself.

NOPE!

Scorpions as pets?

• The most common scorpion pet is the emperor scorpion, which is more docile than most species and has a mild venom.

Glowing Scorpions?

• Scorpions fluoresce or glow under ultra-violate light so they are easy to find with the aid of a black light during the night.