Flinders Range Scorpian?

Heya all. I kinda inheirated 4 scorpians, supposedly Flinders Range species. The short story is that my business partner left them behind when he left the business. I cant realease them (Far as I know they have been domesticated all their life, and around here is the wrong type of enviroment for them) and I refuse let them starve. So I ended up taking over their ownership. Since then, they have seem to have put on a lotta weight (So I affectionatley call them my "Fat Ticks With Tails") and seem to be more content. Now my business partner told me they were Flinders Range Scorpians (Juveniles) which require no license (in Australia) to keep, but since then, it has turned out he is not quite as honest as I thought he was (Long story).
So could someone confirm if these guys are Flinders Range Scorpians, or another type of species?








Hope these pictures work.. 1st time trying to show pics on a forum via this method. Oh, and this one is the smallest of the four which we call "Blue"

I'm not very good at ID'ing scorps but they look to me as possible Androctonus amoreuxi. If so, I personally would not hold them because the sting is bad. You might think about getting a good ID from some of the others here before holding them. Their tails don't look very thick for an A. amoureuxi but if they are young I'm not sure.

It's definitely not an Androctonus species, which are found in Africa and the Middle East, not Australia.

Anyway, I don't have a clue as to what it could be. I'm not familiar with Australian species.

I'm certainly not an expert but my limited ability to use google shows they match what he claims. Especially as a juvenile.

But on a somewhat related note. Don't handle scorpions you aren't sure about.

I thought about the Australia angle as well but maybe they could have been imported or captive breed???

robert44 wrote:

maybe they could have been imported or captive breed???

Are there scorpians that are entirely domesticated? As in you wont find them naturally in the wild?

Yeah, this is where the doubt comes in. For Flinders Range Scorpians, you dont need a license to keep in australia. I'm the sorta person that will get a license if it is needed. My ex-business partner isnt like that tho. Heck, when I first took over them they were as skinny (Well, flat) as. Put it this way, it wouldnt surprise me at all to find they are a different breed that does need a license (in australia) and he has just told me they are Flinders Range ones just so I wouldnt get cranky about having something in the shop/office that we could have possibly gotten fined for (They arent small fines I believe). I do think they aren't deadly tho, as he got stung a few times by one of them (He is a bit of a masochist), but then again, he hasnt exactly proven to be truthful either. I haven't been stung by them (yet) but they seem to recognize me now. Not surprising since I have come across a spider (Golden Orb) that could (and did) recognize human faces. Plus my smell would be all over the tank by now too.It's still a mystery as to what breed they are and wether a license is needed for them.

Once I've identified (Or rather, someone identifies) them I can do research on their natural behaviour and set up the tank more appealing to their insticts. Thanks for the input though guys. Every "They are not Blah Blah Scorpians" eliminates a possibility. And for the record, I dont think they are Flinders Range ones either, but I'm also a noob. First Domesticated Scorpians I've ever met/had.

Scorps in the pet trade are very often captive breed. This is called "CB" rather than "WC" (wild caught). They never get "domesticated" in the normal sense. I think some of my calmer species may possibly get a bit conditioned to handling if I handle them often but you can never ever entirely trust a scorp not to sting you. I also doubt that they can recognize one person from another.

I personally would never ever handle a scorp that I did not have a positive ID on. Some scorps can be deadly. Yours look somewhat like small A. amoureuxi to me (but I very well may be wrong). If they are that, the sting is beyond what I personally would want to subject myself to and therefore would not want to handle it. I would not handle any scorp that I'm unwilling to be stung by.

Maybe someone here can get a better ID for you. In the mean time, I would suggest not handling them and set them up like a desert scorp on dry substrate, but to hedge your bets, maybe keep a small cap of water in the cage. Cool looking little scorps!

They are not Androctonus amoreuxi based on the wrong pincers or Chelae shape. Also the wrong Stinger or Telson shape.

Scorpions do not domesticate. They will not recognize the hand that feeds them.

It looks like a Urodacus elongatus (Flinders Range scorpion) to me. And, considering Australia's restrictions on import/export of exotic animals, it probably is. Here's a care sheet.

Well, I cant say about scorpians recognizing human faces. I can can confirm that spiders do, or at least a Golden Orb spider does. Totally blew us away at the time! Being related to them (Arachnid), I would have thought scorpians may as well. But they may not too. I read somewhere many years ago that Arachnids are the most intelligent insect.

As for handling them, the only time I have done so was when I was taking those pics of Blue, whom wasnt keen on the light (Or the camera flash) but otherwise, seemed to be calm. I chose Blue to take pics of 'cause he is the smallest and figured if he did sting, it wouldnt be so bad. THEN I read that the smaller they are, the more potent the poison. DUH!

UnderBytes wrote:

THEN I read that the smaller they are, the more potent the poison. DUH!

It more has to do with the size of the chela compared to the metasoma and telson. Large chela, small metasoma/telson=weak venom. Small chela, large metasoma/telson=strong venom. (With the exception of Hemiscorpius lepturus.)

For example, a Parabuthus species is much larger than say, a U. mordax, but we all know the former is much more potentially dangerous than the latter.



On a different note, glad to see you got your scorp a correct ID.

Cool looking scorps! Pics I see on the internet show a very long tail like a flat rock scorp.