Scorpio maurus

Scorpio maurus
Scorpio maurus palmatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Scorpiones
Family:	Scorpionidae
Genus:	Scorpio
Species:	S. maurus
Binomial name
Scorpio maurus Linnaeus, 1758

Scorpio maurus is a species of North African and Middle Eastern scorpion, also known as the large-clawed scorpion, Israel golden scorpion, and lesser known as Zerachia scorpion.

This is a small/medium-sized scorpion 3 inches (76 mm) from the family Scorpionidae. It has a brown back and golden claws. There are many sub-species of this scorpion, 19 of which were described by Fet et al.

The venom of Scorpio maurus contains a high variety of toxins including proteases, phospholipases, protease inhibitors and potassium channel toxins δ-KTx. ^[1] Although its venom contains a weak neurotoxin called maurotoxin, S. maurus is not a dangerous scorpion for humans. ^[2] There are no records of fatalities.

Habits

Found in very deep burrows in deserts and occasionally sparse woodland. Its habit of creating very deep burrows (up to 1 metre deep) means that in captivity this scorpion is often happiest with higher humidity: sand that is deep will be moist, thereby creating a comparatively humid burrow.

References

1. So, Wai Lok; Leung, Thomas C.N.; Nong, Wenyan; Bendena, William G.; Ngai, Sai Ming; Hui, Jerome H.L. (December 2021). "Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of venom glands from scorpions Liocheles australasiae, Mesobuthus martensii, and Scorpio maurus palmatus" . Peptides. 146 170643. doi:10.1016/j.peptides.2021.170643. PMID   34461138. S2CID   237311410.
2. Wood, Trina (April 15, 2016). "Scorpion Venom Yields Clues for Developing Better Pharmaceuticals". University of California, Davis . Retrieved October 2, 2018.

External links

Media related to Scorpio maurus at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Scorpio maurus at Wikispecies

• Information on Scorpio maurus from The Scorpion Files