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The presence of a predator can cause behavioral changes in its prey, such as decreased foraging activity. Previous studies have indicated that the scorpion Ananteris mauryi has the ability to identify the chemical traces of its intraguild predator Tityus pusillus, causing it to reduce its exploratory activity. In this study, the foraging activities of A. mauryi in a natural environment with different densities of T. pusillus were compared. The study was carried out through active searches from 19:00 to 22:00 in five fragments of the Atlantic Forest in Pernambuco, Brazil, one having a low density of T. pusillus and four returning high densities. In total, 81 individuals of A. mauryi were observed, and 49.4% were recorded in the area with a low density of T. pusillus. In general, A. mauryi individuals exhibited a similar foraging activity in the fragment with low and higher density of T. pusillus. Similarly, A. mauryi was found on leaf litter bottom layers independently of T. pusillus density. Therefore, our results suggest that their predator density does not exert any influence on foraging activity and microhabitat choice in A. mauryi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries around the world, and especially in rural tropical areas, scorpion envenomation is a life-threatening hazard and medical emergency, particularly for children and the elderly. Advances in immunotherapy have resulted from new, in-depth knowledge of peptide synthesis. Nanotechnology and especially biocompatible nanoparticles have been used to induce active, protective immunity against venom toxins, based on their size and shape, making them specific vectors antigen-presenting cells. This review provides an overview of traditional and new therapies for the treatment of scorpion envenomation and discusses current technical issues and perspectives on specific serotherapy and nano-vectorization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A striking feature of most scorpion species is fluorescence under ultraviolet light, but few studies have investigated the adaptive benefit of this trait. A hypothesis is that fluorescence may lure prey towards the scorpion improving foraging success. In this study, we investigated whether the fluorescence of the scorpion Centruroides granosus Thorell, 1876 lures the house cricket Acheta domesticus Linnaeus, 1758. We performed two experiments: 1) an arena in which crickets were exposed to both fluorescing and black-painted non-fluorescing scorpions and 2) a tunnel in which crickets could walk out through one of the two exits, each with a scorpion treatment. None of the experiments provided evidence that the scorpion fluorescence is attractive to house crickets since they did not show preference for any of the two scorpion types. Variables such as cricket sex or scorpion sex did not influence their response towards the fluorescence; however, crickets were on average closer to male scorpions in the outdoor arena and closer to female scorpions in the laboratory arenas. Moreover, male crickets were more active than females in the tunnel experiment, in line with the results of the arena experiment showing that male crickets were on average closer to the scorpions in the laboratory. We discuss potential implications and suggest that more experimental work is required to investigate potential adaptive benefits of the scorpion fluorescence under various biotic and abiotic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Brazil, the Caatinga ecoregion is the only biome that lies completely within the country, covering approximately 11% of the national territory. This biome exhibits a strong climatic seasonality that may affect the activity of its fauna. We aimed to assess the effects of seasonality on scorpion foraging activity in an area of hypoxerophytic Caatinga, located in the municipality of Caetés, Pernambuco. Scorpions were collected through active nocturnal searching using ultraviolet flashlights during the rainy (May, June, and July) and dry (September, October, and November) seasons in 2017. A total of 96 specimens were collected, belonging to the Buthidae and Bothriuridae families, comprising seven species, Ananteris sp., Tityus pusillus, T. stigmurus, T. neglectus, Jaguajir rochae, Bothriurus asper, and B. rochai. No differences in foraging activity (rainy season, n = 47; dry season, n = 49) were found between rainy and dry seasons. These findings indicate that the studied area has a high scorpion richness, emphasizing the importance of conserving the area, as these animals are sensitive to habitat changes. In addition, the lack of variation between seasons found in this work may reflect the ecotonal nature of hypoxerophytic Caatinga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southern Africa contains a diverse and endemic scorpion fauna, but with biological aspects remaining largely unexplored for this group. In order to gain biological insights into an understudied scorpion species, the current study investigates fine-scale spatial distributions and sexual dimorphism in the South African endemic Drab Thick-tail Scorpion (Parabuthus planicauda). The species closely track rocky areas, with the sexes homogenously distributed across habitats. Varying adult sex ratios are evident at each sampling area, likely influenced by differing vegetation cover and predation pressures. When considering size-corrected measurements, several characters are significantly sexually dimorphic in P. planicauda; this sexual dimorphism is not readily observable (<10% difference in size) based on uncorrected measurements, thereby rendering the identification of males and females in the field difficult. Even so, sexually dimorphic characters in females appear to be shaped mainly by natural selection (e.g. carapace width, pedipalp patella and metasoma), likely for enhanced feeding ability, fecundity, parental care and juvenile survival. In contrast, the male morphology may be primarily subject to sexual selection pressures on features used during courtship and mating (e.g. pectines, chela movable finger, pedipalp femur, 2nd and 4th legs). Taken together, the results reported on here add novel preliminary information on the understudied biological aspects of a South African endemic scorpion species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The taxonomy and diversity of the scorpion fauna of Egypt was examined based on a large collection from most parts of the country and in view of recent revisionary systematics. We assessed the validity of listed records in light of new taxonomic findings and geographic distribution data and present a new list and an identification key to the scorpion fauna of Egypt consisting of 31 species, 18 of which were collected during this survey. Four species were not accepted for the list because no voucher material was available. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Scorpions of the family Buthidae are widespread species in India. While studies are available on diversity and distribution of Indian buthid scorpions, no information is available on the phylogenetic relationships among the members of the family, within India and Asia in general. In the current study, we provide the first molecular phylogeny of buthid scorpions from central western India based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Our analysis confirms the current placement of the species, previously assigned to Mesobuthus in the genus Hottentotta. However, the analysis also suggests that the member of this genus from India form a monophyletic group distinct from the members of Hottentotta from Africa. Species of Lychas formed a monophyletic group. Although Orthochirus was nested within the larger clade of buthidae comprising genera such as Androctonus, Buthacus, Buthus and Odontobuthus, the exact phylogenetic placement will require more taxonomic sampling of the known genera of Buthidae. We also show that there is a substantial genetic variation among the populations of medically important scorpion species Hottentotta tamulus, and the genetic distance is linearly correlated with the geographical distance between the populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the two species of scorpions belonging to the genera Butheolus Simon from the region of Khatan Al' Atash Ridge in the border area between the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Illustrations and measurements were made with the aid of a Wild M5 stereo-microscope with a drawing tube and an ocular micrometer. The taxonomic treatment for Butheolus pallidus sp. n. and Compsobuthus lowei sp. n. is presented.

In this study, the first molecular phylogenetic analysis of Mesobuthus eupeus in Iran is presented based on sequence data of a ∼ 700-base-pair fragment of cytochrome C oxidase, subunit I. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred using parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. The results support monophyly of M. eupeus, but there is a clear divergence between northern and southern clades. The northern clade includes four subspecies - M. e. eupeus, M. e. philippovitschi, M. e. afghanus and M. e. thersites; whereas the southern clade is comprised of two others - M. e. phillipsi and M. e. kirmanensis. Accordingly, possible scenarios for the evolution and phylogeographic structure of M. eupeus based on the geological history of the Iranian Plateau were proposed. The observation of two distinct lineages supports the proposal that M. eupeus might be a species complex composed of species with highly similar morphological features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes two additional species of scorpions the Compsobuthus acutecarinatus and the Compsobuthus maindroni found in United Arab Emirates. The Compsobuthus maindroni is colored brown to red-brown with eyes that has a black pigment on the outer surface. Its chelicerae and vesicle is colored red with dark tips. The Compsobuthus acutecarinatus on the other hand is colored yellow to dark yellow. The species' tergites, patella and femur have a slight fuscosity.

The foraging activity of Mesobuthus gibbosus was studied and analysed over 290 field samplings in Koufonisi island (central Aegean) and Crete (south Aegean) during the period of maximal activity of the species. The results showed that on both islands males and juveniles searched for prey mainly relatively near or far from their burrows (“sit-and-wait” strategy), whereas females foraged comparatively more than males and juveniles at the entrances of their burrows (“doorkeeping” strategy). Throughout the study, there was no evidence of two or more individuals foraging together. Re-emergence time after digestion lasts probably more than one month, because no individual was observed foraging twice in the 30 consecutive days of the study period. The individuals that followed the sit-and-wait strategy were larger in size compared to those of the same sex or age-class that used the doorkeeping strategy. The diet of the species was wide, including representatives of eight arthropod orders on Koufonisi and seven on Crete. Stinging was selective and prey selection was based on the age-class of the predator and the size of the prey compared to the size of the predator. The success of sit-and-wait foraging individuals was much more dependent on abiotic factors compared to scorpions using the doorkeeping strategy. Moon phase, air and soil temperature and air relative humidity were the abiotic factors which mainly influenced the foraging activity of these generally non-cannibalistic opportunistic ambush predators on both islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the Striped scorpion (Centruroides vittatus) was assembled from Illumina-based whole genome sequencing. The circular genome is 14,602 bp in length with 13 protein coding genes, 21 tRNA, two rRNAs, a translocation-inversion of tRNALeu compared to the horse shoe crab mitogenome, and the absence of tRNAAsp. The A + T content of the mitogenome is 68.1%. Our Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses placed the C. vittatus mitogenome as a sister group of C. limpidus and nestled within the new world Buthids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]