Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always ending with a stinger. The evolutionary history of scorpions goes back 435 million years. They mainly live in deserts but have adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions, and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. There are over 2,500 described species, with 22 extant (living) families recognized to date. Their taxonomy is being revised to account for 21st-century genomic studies.
Paravaejovis spinigerus, commonly known as the stripe-tailed scorpion or devil scorpion, is a species of scorpion in the family Vaejovidae. It is found in the south-western United States and north-western Mexico.
The Buthidae are the largest family of scorpions, containing about 100 genera and 1339 species as of 2022. A few very large genera are known, but a high number of species-poor or monotypic ones also exist. New taxa are being described at a rate of several new species per year. They have a cosmopolitan distribution throughout tropical and subtropical environments worldwide. Together with four other families, the Buthidae make up the superfamily Buthoidea. The family was established by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1837.
Euscorpius is a genus of scorpions, commonly called small wood-scorpions. It presently contains 65 species and is the type genus of the family Euscorpiidae – long included in the Chactidae – and the subfamily Euscorpiinae.
The taxonomy of scorpions deals with the classification of this predatory arthropod into 13 extant families and about 1,400 described species and subspecies. In addition, 111 described taxa of extinct scorpions are known.
Vaejovidae is a family of scorpions, comprising 25 genera and 227 species, found in North America. The species of the genus are found in Mexico and the southern United States, and Paruroctonus boreus is found in Canada and is the northernmost species of scorpion in the world.
Uintascorpio is an extinct genus of scorpion in the family Buthidae and containing the single species Uintascorpio halandrasorum. The species is known only from the Middle Eocene Parachute Member, part of the Green River Formation, in the Piceance Creek Basin, Garfield County, northwestern Colorado, USA.
Paruroctonus boreus, commonly known as the northern scorpion, is a species of scorpion in the family Vaejovidae. It is the northernmost species of scorpion, the only scorpion found in Canada, and one of the scorpions with the broadest distribution over North America.
Vaejovis is a genus of scorpions.
Hadrurus is a genus of scorpions which belongs to the family Hadruridae. They are found in sandy deserts and other xeric habitats in northwestern Mexico and in southwest United States. They are among the largest of all scorpion genera, only surpassed by Hadogenes, Pandinus, Heterometrus and Hoffmannihadrurus.
Smeringurus is a small genus of scorpions native to Mexico and the southwestern United States within the family Vaejovidae. It is closely related to the genus Paruroctonus, of which it was formerly considered a subgenus.
Paruroctonus silvestrii, also known as the California common scorpion and the stripe-tailed scorpion, is a species of scorpion in the family Vaejovidae. This species is native to the coastal region of the Californias. The stripe-tailed scorpion can be found in dry areas, where it creates and dwells in burrows.
Paruroctonus is a genus of scorpions in the family Vaejovidae. There are about 10 described species in Paruroctonus.
Calchas is a genus of scorpions in the family Iuridae. At least four species in Calchas are described.
Paravaejovis is a genus of scorpions in the family Vaejovidae. There are about 11 described species in the genus Paravaejovis.
Uroctonus is a genus of forest scorpions in the family Vaejovidae. There are at least four described species in Uroctonus.
Maaykuyak is a genus of scorpions in the family Vaejovidae, found in Mexico and the United States (Texas).
Serradigitus is a genus of sawfinger scorpions in the family Vaejovidae. There are more than 20 described species in Serradigitus.
Wernerius inyoensis is a species of scorpion in the taxomic family Vaejovidae. W. inyoensis is the third species described in the genus Wernerius. Wernerius inyoensis lives throughout the Inyo Mountains of Death Valley National Park in the southwestern North America, eastern California just like many scorpion species discovered around the year 2009.
Kochius is a genus of scorpions. Kochius scorpions are found in southwestern North America. The genus was first described in 2008 by Michael E. Soleglad and Victor Fet.
