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.
Schizomida, also known as sprickets or short-tailed whip-scorpions, is an order of arachnids, generally less than 5 millimetres (0.20 in) in length. The order is not yet widely studied. E. O. Wilson has identified schizomids as among the "groups of organisms that desperately need experts to work on them."
The Santa Cruz Mountains are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast Ranges. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from the San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continue south to the Central Coast, bordering Monterey Bay and ending at the Salinas Valley. The range passes through the counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz, with the Pajaro River forming the southern boundary.
Solifugae is an order of arachnids known variously as solifuges, sun spiders, camel spiders, and wind scorpions. The order includes more than 1,000 described species in about 147 genera. Despite the common names, they are neither true scorpions nor true spiders. Because of this, it's less ambiguous to call them "solifuges". Most species of solifuge live in dry climates and feed opportunistically on ground-dwelling arthropods and other small animals. The largest species grow to a length of 12–15 cm (5–6 in), including legs. A number of urban legends exaggerate the size and speed of solifuges, and their potential danger to humans, which is negligible.
The emperor scorpion(Pandinus imperator) is a species of scorpion native to rainforests and savannas in West Africa. It is one of the largest scorpions in the world and lives for 6–8 years. Its body is black, but like other scorpions it glows pastel green or blue under ultraviolet light. It is a popular species in the pet trade, and is protected by CITES to prevent over-collecting that might affect the species' survival.
Mount Tamalpais, known locally as Mount Tam, is a peak in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park, the Marin Municipal Water District watershed, and National Park Service land, such as Muir Woods.
The Santa Lucia Range or Santa Lucia Mountains is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for 140 miles (230 km) to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than 11 miles (18 km) from the coast. The range forms the steepest coastal slope in the contiguous United States. Cone Peak at 5,158 feet (1,572 m) tall and three miles (5 km) from the coast, is the highest peak in proximity to the ocean in the lower 48 United States. The range was a barrier to exploring the coast of central California for early Spanish explorers.
California mixed evergreen forest is a plant community found in the mountain ranges of California and southwestern Oregon.
The California slender salamander is a lungless salamander that is found primarily in coastal mountain areas of Northern California, United States as well as in a limited part of the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada, California, in patches of the northern Central Valley of California, and in extreme southwestern Oregon. This species resides primarily in a limited range within California as one of a handful quasi-endemic amphibians in the state.
Abkhazia is a region in South Caucasus. It is a de facto independent republic, but internationally is mostly recognized as part of Georgia.
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 fringed myotis is a species of vesper bat that is found in British Columbia, Mexico, and the western United States.
Atelopus coynei, the Rio Faisanes stubfoot toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.
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.
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.
Vaejovis carolinianus, the southern unstriped scorpion, also known as the southern devil scorpion, is a species of scorpion in the family Vaejovidae.
Uroctonus is a genus of forest scorpions in the family Vaejovidae. There are at least four described species in Uroctonus.
Paruroctonus conclusus is a species of scorpion in the genus Paruroctonus. It lives in the deserts of Southern California where it associates with alkali clay soils in the Mojave Desert area of eastern Kern County. P. conclusus is an alkali sink specialist species with an extremely small range.
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.
