| Scorpio | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scorpio maurus palmatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Scorpiones |
| Family: | Scorpionidae |
| Genus: | Scorpio Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Type species | |
| Scorpio maurus Linnaeus, 1758 [1] | |
Scorpio is a genus of scorpions belonging to the family Scorpionidae. The species in this genus are found in northern Africa and western Asia. [1]
Scorpio was regarded as a monotypic genus for a long time, containing one widespread and highly variable species, S. maurus, which had many subspecies. It has since been recognised that within S. maurus sensu lato there were a number of taxa which should be regarded as valid species and new species have been described from sub-Saharan Africa: [2] [3] [4]
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.
Fattail scorpion or fat-tailed scorpion is the common name given to scorpions of the genus Androctonus, one of the most dangerous groups of scorpion species in the world. The genus was first described in 1828 by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg.
Scorpio maurus is a species of North African and Middle Eastern scorpion, also known as the large-clawed scorpion or Israeli gold scorpion and lesser known as Zerachia scorpion.
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.
Buthacus is a genus of scorpion of the family Buthidae. It is distributed across northern and western Africa, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
Hottentotta is a genus of scorpions of the family Buthidae. It is distributed widely across Africa, except for most of the Sahara desert. Species in the genus also occur in the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, southeastern Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Cape Verde Islands, and Sri Lanka (introduced).
Hottentotta tamulus, the Indian red scorpion, also known as the eastern Indian scorpion, is a species of scorpion of the family Buthidae. It occurs in most of India, eastern Pakistan and the eastern lowlands of Nepal, and recently from Sri Lanka.
Leiurus is a genus of scorpion of the family Buthidae. The most common species, L. quinquestriatus, is also known under the common name Deathstalker. It is distributed widely across North Africa and the Middle East, including the western and southern Arabian Peninsula and southeastern Turkey. At least one species occurs in West Africa.
Pandinus is a genus of large scorpions belonging to the family Scorpionidae. It contains one of the most popular pet scorpions, the emperor scorpion . The genus is distributed across tropical Africa.
In the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, Carl Linnaeus classified the arthropods, including insects, arachnids and crustaceans, among his class "Insecta". Wingless arthropods were brought together under the name Aptera.
Compsobuthus is a genus of buthid scorpions.
Buthus is a genus of scorpion belonging and being eponymous to the family Buthidae. It is distributed widely across northern Africa, including Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, as well as the Middle East, including Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and possibly Saudi Arabia and southern Turkey. Its European range includes the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, and Cyprus.
Isometrus is a genus of scorpion belonging and being eponymous to the family Buthidae. Some species are currently assigned to the genus Reddyanus.
Mesobuthus is an Asian genus of scorpions in the family Buthidae.
Scorpionidae is a family of burrowing scorpions or pale-legged scorpions in the superfamily Scorpionoidea. The family was established by Pierre André Latreille, 1802.
Calchas is a genus of scorpions in the family Iuridae. At least four species in Calchas are described.
Buthoscorpio is a genus of scorpions in the family Buthidae.
Charmus is a genus of buthid scorpions native to India and Sri Lanka.
Orthochirus is a genus of scorpion in the family Buthidae, first described by Ferdinand Karsch in 1891.
