False scorpion label... (urgently need to know- no idea what climate it wants!)

I bought this scorpion two days ago at a pet shop in Potchefstroom (SA), it was labeled "Euscorpuis Caporiacco" [SIC] - yes I do notice the spelling mistakes-. I noticed that caporiacco is not an actual species and eventually found that it is probably not even of the genus Euscorpius..... Any help would be appreciated.

PS. A zoology lecturer at my university disproved one theory that it was from a South African genus: Hadogenes, but could not identify the actual genus... He did however suggest that I try to find the family before finding the genus/species.

Its body is about 2cm long.

Well it's not hadogenes, I saw your post on AB. I meant to comment on it but to be perfectly honest it's really difficult to tell especially since it's premolt. In the meantime why don't you offer a mostly dry enclosure with the option for humidity and maybe after it molts we can get a better look into what it is.

Awesome! I will remove more of the "jungle moss" substrate and add some sand. ( It is on the heating pad so the water bowl will provide humidity.). Earlier today I killed one of our tarantula's crickets and put it inside the enclosure, the scorpion seems uninterested though....

This is my first scorpion so any additional advice will be much appreciated.

EDIT: A writer on SA scorpions says it may be Opistacanthus capensis.... He is unsure as well though.. I Also have some more pics from different angles for interests sake.

I would provide more humidity than just water. Maybe a light mist on a corner of the enclosure.

Abyss,

I am a novice Scorpion guy. Why not a Hadogenes? I am trying to learn what excludes a species from an I.D. parade. Looking in my S.A. Scorp book I could have sworn it was a H. Gunningi from the location as well as the spur on the pedipalp. Help.

Looking at the pedipalps, I would say definitely not O.capensis.
I would also have gone for Hadogenes sp but it being in pre molt does make it more difficult to ID.

this one is very difficult for me but i doubt im right but there are a couple i was thinking of Opisthacanthus cayaporum or it is a hadogenes sp but to be honest im pretty stumped

Andrew Leigh wrote:

Abyss,

I am a novice Scorpion guy. Why not a Hadogenes? I am trying to learn what excludes a species from an I.D. parade. Looking in my S.A. Scorp book I could have sworn it was a H. Gunningi from the location as well as the spur on the pedipalp. Help.

I think ( i'm also very new to scorpions) the giveaway is the shape/ length of the metasoma. Also it is very unusual for pet shops in SA to sell indigenous species..

Hey guys, I just noticed something, as the scorpion was originally labeled as Euscorpius sp. I compared some pictures, one thing stands out: The pattern on the plates of the mesosoma of my scorp and the Euscorpius alpha is exactly the same. Here is a pic I found of (apparently E. alpha)



Compared to mine.....


Does this count as an ID or is it coincidence?

I can't comment on the picture as I don't know, what I can say however is that be very wary of buying scorpions in SA, specifically Emperor Scorpions and anything Exotic (there are a few people you can trust though, Deviant Exotics and Shadowfoot come to mind). The reason I say this is there are a number of people selling Hadogenes and Opisthacanthus as Emperors. Sounds to me that someone got a little smart and decided to label it as something "rare" (i.e non-existent).

If it is a Local Species, just be aware that it is protected but it is your choice what to do with it, just don't go posting on local forums that you have a local Burrowing/FlatRock scorpion without permits

Other than that, the markings of the plates (tergites if I remember correctly) look very similar to the Euscorpius pictured but I can't comment on whether or not it is

F1refly, thank you for that post. It does clarify some disgruntling issues for me. In the mean time I have decided to start compiling a report of exactly what has occurred since the purchase of the scorpion. This report will be sent to the DAF.

As a South African that pretty much grew up on a farm and was taught to respect nature at all costs, I cannot take the chance that this is an indigenous species. ( the main reason is of course the fueling of an illegal market) but other than that, this specimen was sold to me as one of many other scorplings that were born of the same (brood... i think is the correct term?). They were sold for R60/specimen, to students with little to no regard for the well being of the animals (as even the pet shop owner was visibly disgusted by my scorpion while transferring it to its new container.).

In conclusion, irrelevant of the consequences, my report will be sent within the next few days, and this problem will be resolved: The thought of inadvertently supporting poaching of local species sickens me. Luckily my university is very serious about biodiversity and will most likely lend me a hand in resolving this potential issue.

Wow... I didn't realize things in SA were that restrictive. I don't have a problem with it, as I can understand things from a conservationist point of view. I just didn't know. Is it a problem to you guys that a lot of us in the US and other places collect the SA species? I suppose most of the ones we have here, though, are captive bred and not specifically poached.

I wouldn't say our scorpion fauna over here is at the stage where they are becoming uncommon in the wild but I think our nature conservation unit has seen what has happened to our reptile populations and fear that our spiders and scorpions might go the same way.
Some genus' are however in more trouble than others. Two come to mind easily, Opistophthalmus and Hadogenes, because of their slow growth, gestation period and the difficulty of breeding. While others like Parabuthus have been collected in the wild but because they are easy to breed and grow quite quickly, people overseas have established a stable captive born population, P.transvaalicus is a prime example. That's why it's always a good idea to try your hand at breeding, it's awesome to breed and raise your own scorpions anyway.