What type of scorpion is this?

Hey I just moved to Mexico on the Gulf side. Back home I had several tarantulas and an emporor scorpion as pets, so naturally i've been looking around collecting whatever i can find. So far i've come accross these scorpions and was wondering if you could tell me what kind they are and if they are dangerous. Both pictures look similar however when looking at them directly they are different colors one is reddish in color and the other is black. The black one also seems to have a thicker rear. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Also, could anyone tell me what types of scorpions are found in Mexico and which ones should I stay clear of.

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WTH, they don't look like any mexican species or genus for that matter. The left one looks like hottentotta and the right one looks like tytius. Let me investigate a little more. Can you give me locations and enviroment where you found them?

that first one looks like H. judaicus locality is way off though. regardless, the first one does not look like any species native to the americas. the second - again, I'm with Eddy on this one as well - appears to be of the Tytius family. maybe Tytius metuendus.

at any rate both scorpions you've got pictured do not appear to be native to the area in question.

what if they do and we dont know it yet!!!!

~Abyss~ wrote:

what if they do and we dont know it yet!!!!

highly unlikely

I know. I smell a troll

It's a C.Gracilis

The one on the right?

Yeah??

Hey thanks for the quick response. As i said before i live on the Gulf Coast of Mexico in a small beach town. The scorpion on the right i found in my house and the one on the left was found in a small rock pile on the side of my house. I am going to post a picture of my surroundings so that you can get a better idea of the environment in which i've found them. I have also included a picture of the redish colored scorpion beside a mexican coin to give a better perception of its size. it is the lager of the two. I have a small child and am concerned that these might be dangerous. Again, any information would be very helpful.

thanks!



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methinks you're right about that Venom. it would be quite possible that both images are of the same species it the tegrites on the one on the right matched up

american C.gracilis are not much of a threat to adults but those found in the gulf regions of latin america are said to be heavy hitters. if you're worried about the kid then it would be best to keep a weary eye on the child's activities and your house as well. don't get stung.

could the first one be gravid?

~Abyss~ wrote:

could the first one be gravid?

possible but it doesn't look gravid, the tegrites aren't spreading apart like a gravid or pre moult

Thats what i figured but it is kinda robust-like.

looks cool anyway! keep it! I'm pretty clueless about mexican spp. but it I think it looks like a c.gracilis. well it's very simmilar to this one - http://web.singnet.com.sg/~caijw/care/c_gracilis(boddan).gif

scorpion111 wrote:

looks cool anyway! keep it! I'm pretty clueless about mexican spp. but it I think it looks like a c.gracilis. well it's very simmilar to this one - http://web.singnet.com.sg/~caijw/care/c_gracilis(boddan).gif

look at the first scorpion closely and you'll see it's much different from C.gracilis. I may have been gone a while but I'm going to maintain that it doesn't look like a Centruroide. now, if we had more and better pictures of it then I would be able to say with more certainty what genus it is and potentially what species it is.

Thanks again for all the help. I do plan on keeping them as pets. As small as they are one of them has eaten a lizard more than twice its size. I spend time each day trying to catch anything I can get my hands on, so far these seem to be best in captivity. I've caught several lizards but they refuse to do anything but try and escape. I know they bolth look almost identical but in natural light one is black and the other is a black with a redish tint. They also seem to have different body builds as one is narrow and the darker of the two has a much wider abdomen. Maybe one is female and one is male or they are just at differnt stages of growth. As far as better pictures the ones below were as close as im willing to get until I know 100% what species they are. Over 1000 people die each year in mexico from scorpion stings and since im at least 1 hour from a hospital i think i should watch my fingers.


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haha still look like hottentota to me. Let me check with the knowitalls

^^ I agree^^

Also....we dont on this forum post about feeding live food such as mice and lizards to scorpions and taking pictures etc.
Read the rules to understand fully and what is "allowed" on this forum and not.

xxxx

if you found it in your house could it have come home with you from somewhere else? like in a shoe or something

*Connie* wrote:

^^ I agree^^

Also....we dont on this forum post about feeding live food such as mice and lizards to scorpions and taking pictures etc.
Read the rules to understand fully and what is "allowed" on this forum and not.

xxxx

Calm down Connie, he didn't post any media.

Also.. there might be no petshops down there.

Could look abit like Tityus asthens.. but i havent checked locations yet.. but 1000 ppl in mexico you say?, have they said anything about age ranged on the ppl getting "killed" ?? thats allways a interesting fact.. plus how many times before they died ppl have been stung.. ?

About the stings -- for a healthy adult, the chances of death are virtually nil.

About the prey -- vertebrates can fight back quite a bit and may injure the scorpion, plus they smell pretty nasty when the leftovers go bad. If you have access to it you should try getting store-bought prey because it's less likely to have pesticides or parasites (or breed your own prey ).

About the ID -- Here's a link to the genera of North American scorpions. I don't know if they include Mexico (they should), but it might be a start. The downside is you need access to a microscope and immobilizing the scorpion. My suggestion (if possible) is to put one in a plastic ziploc bag and seal it with not a lot of air. The scorpion will be fine like this for a while and you can look a the top and bottom safely without it moving around a lot.

Link: http://wrbu.si.edu/scorpions/sc_key_NA/nakey01.html

Kejser wrote:

Could look abit like Tityus asthens.. but i havent checked locations yet.. but 1000 ppl in mexico you say?, have they said anything about age ranged on the ppl getting "killed" ?? thats allways a interesting fact.. plus how many times before they died ppl have been stung.. ?

Mostly kids. Or low health elderly.