[Info] Scorpion Facts

_scorpio_ wrote:

is that a C. bicolor?????

Yes sir.

taken from scorpopedia;

Another very interesting fact about scorpions is that it has been noted that their exoskeleton has a focal distribution of metals. In the chelicera, sting, and tarsi there are high amounts of metals. It is a high concentration almost reaching 30% by weight

Yeah that's right!
I forgot what specific metals, but that's what helps there aceulus from breaking.

some of the stuff I read suggests there is manganese and zinc, and some buthids have high concentrations of iron in thier tissues.

...electromagnet for scorp hunting... or a metal detector!

hehehe i like it a lot!

There are two types of methods scorpions use to gestate their young they are:

Katoikogenic and Apoikogenic.

-Katoikogenic scorpions do not form eggs, instead their young develop in a method similar to mammals, for example, humans. This method is effective in some situations, and not so in others. You will normally find that larger, longer lived scorpions are katoikogenic. This makes sense as this method is more time consuming (in some cases taking up to 18 months!). For proof of this snails pace, look no further than the family Scorpionidae. A family home to such long live classics as P. emperator and H. spinifer. Species like this are not only very long lived but have gestation periods that seem to take forever. Usually the wait is worth it as this type of scorpion tends to have much larger broods than their counterparts...

-Apoikogenic scorpions actually develop eggs, complete with yolk, inside the mother. Most of their nourishment comes from these yolks. I find this method in a much larger number of scorpions, the entire Buthidae family for instance. This method move much more swiftly than the previous one, with average gestation being 3.5-5 months. The archetypal apoikogenic scorpion would have to be the B. jacksoni. I have much experience with these, and as do others, and I frequently hear, and think, "Man these things breed like roaches!" It seems as soon as you get one brood of the mother's back, another is sliding its way up there. With a fast paced gestation cycle predictably comes a face paced life style. These guys mature much faster, breed much faster, and unfortunately die much younger. The average female will have 4 broods in her life time, with the size of each brood varying from species to species, although in almost all cases the broods are substantially smaller than those of katoikogenic scorpions.


So, there you have it, if you were dying to know why some species take FOREVER to produce a brood, while others are cranking out babies like is going out of style, this is why.

^According to The Biology of Scorpions, some apoikogenic families have ova that are yolkless.

Can anybody explain the crystallization venom mentioned? Thats kinda neat. if any scorp can do it, which ones?

Well I thought I'd necro this thread here. I stumbled across the American Tarantula Society's web site and while browsing their forum, I found a page full of information about a number of different species. I am posting a link to the thread here.

If you feel like digesting some research papers then I suggest you give it a look.