Scorpio maurus

Scorpio maurus
S. maurus palmatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Scorpiones
Family: Scorpionidae
Genus: Scorpio
Species: S. maurus
Binomial name
Scorpio maurus
Linnaeus, 1758

Scorpio maurus is a species of North African and Middle Eastern scorpion, also known as the Large-clawed Scorpion or Israeli gold scorpion.

This is a small/medium-sized scorpion (3 in) from the family Scorpionidae. There are many sub-species of this scorpion, 19 of which were described by Fet et al.

Although its venom contains a weak neurotoxin called Maurotoxin, S.maurus is not a dangerous scorpion for humans. There are no records of fatalities.

Habits

Found in very deep burrows in deserts and occasionally sparse woodland. Its habit of creating very deep burrows (up to 1 metre deep) means that in captivity this scorpion is often happiest with higher humidity: sand that is deep will be moist, thereby creating a comparatively humid burrow.

References

    Wikispecies has information related to: Scorpio maurus
    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scorpio maurus.


    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.