V. Large scorpion from Yucatan / Cozumel in Mexico

Hi all,

I was on holiday in Mexico in october in the Yucatan region, and went looking for tarantulas and scorpions. Although I was disappointed by the number of the tarantulas I found, I was amazed to find two very large scorpions, much larger than I expected in that part of the world. I found both on Cozumel island in separate parts of the same forest, both were snugly tucked under the bark of dead branches.

Unfortunately they both got away before I could snap a picture, despite trying to catch/corner them.

Descirption:

Large size, as in snout to tail was 5-6 inches, with claws extended would have been 6-7 inches (I actually think it was more but I want to be careful not exagerate).

Narrow claws, very thick tail, overall body similar shape to Andoctronus( like displayed on the top of this page at time of writing), except slighlty more elongated, but overall body mass reminded me of my emperor scorpions in sub-adult stage (one or two moults away from maturity) to give a vague indication of size.

Colour was dark-green (I know this could have been due to the light) and patternless as far as I could tell.

I'm gutted I didn't get pictures of them, and browsing on the web I can't seem to find anything which would match what I saw.

Anyone know what species this could be?

If anyone of you enthusiasts are visiting that part of Mexico I seriously recommend looking for them.

Directions:

Go to the San Gerbasio ruins in cozumel. The road that takes you there has many perpendicular off-shoots giving you access to the surrounding forest. Look for fallen trees in moist areas. You'll need a machete, and please watch your fingers, these scorpions looked severely dangerous!

you could try lookin in the origins section on The Scorpion Fauna website and google the names to try n get a pic http://pagesperso-orange.fr/eycb/scorpions/ANMexique.htm

Thanks for that, I've looked some more and it seems a definite centruroides, but I can't tell which one, and most don't have photos available on the net.
Assuming all the measurements are head-to-tail, none of them seem even close to the size of the ones I saw. I think the longest on the page you linked was 11cm. Both the ones I saw were a good bit above that.

Someone definitely should go check them out, I'd be happy to point out exactly where I found them on Google maps or so...

maybe a new species, you should try n get back there n collect a couple specimens n take them to ur local museum and try to find and entomologist.

My guess is for either Centruroides Gracilis, or Centruroides Nigrescens, Centruroides nigrimanus, Centruroides Margaritus

The-Scorp-Whisperer wrote:

maybe a new species, you should try n get back there n collect a couple specimens n take them to ur local museum and try to find and entomologist.

If it's in a national park / monument / etc. that would probably be illegal, not to mention if this involves crossing any borders. A safer option would be to find an entomologist who specializes in scorpions and describe to them what was found.

Venom wrote:

My guess is for either Centruroides Gracilis, or Centruroides Nigrescens, Centruroides nigrimanus, Centruroides Margaritus

If the OP looks for any of these, the last one is C. margaritatus.

i know i'm a little late on this one but i've done lots of researching on the scorpions of cozumel and even a little bit of collecting and the only buthid on the island is C gracilis, and it is also the only scorpion found on the island that is anywhere close to that size so i'm about 90% sure you saw a gracilis.




John