What Kinds of Scorpions Are There?

Scorpions have been found in fossil records and are thought to have existed since more than 400 million years ago. Today, roughly 1,300 species of scorpions are found throughout the world and are comprised of 19 families, nine subfamilies and 66 genera, or kinds of scorpions. Most are dangerous and top the list as one of the 10 most dangerous animals in the world, accounting for over 5,000 deaths annually.

  1. Identification

    • Scorpions are part of the order Scorpiones and belong to the class Arachnida. They are related to other members of the Arachnida class, such as spiders and ticks. Scorpions are eight-legged venomous invertebrates with a body composed of the head and the abdomen. They have a pair of pincers and a segmented tail that curls up with a sharp stinger on the end. The size of scorpions vary depending on the species with most about 2 to 3 inches in length and the largest being more than 8 inches.

    Geography

    • Scorpions are found on all continents but are most diverse in tropical, subtropical and temperate habitats. However, they have adapted to a wide range of environments and have been found in the Andes Mountains, the Himalayas and the Swiss Alps. Approximately 90 species of scorpions are found in the United States and are most abundant in the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.

    Behavior

    • Scorpions come out at night and often hide under rocks and logs and in cracks or dig and hide in burrows during the day. In drought areas these nocturnal animals may stay in a dormant state during the summer and hibernate during the cold months in places where it snows. Scorpions are generally dangerous and all species have poisonous venom in their stingers to kill or paralyze prey. The venom of some species, such as the Australian fat-tailed scorpion, is lethal to humans.

    Diet

    • Scorpions eat vertebrates and invertebrates. They often ambush their prey, which includes all types of insects, spiders, centipedes, small lizards, snakes, mice and other scorpions. They do not have good eyesight and reply on their sense of touch to capture their prey with their pincers. Scorpions are known to be able to paralyze their prey with amounts of deadly venom appropriate for the size of the target. The prey's tissues are dissolved with an acid spray secreted from the scorpion's glands that allows the scorpion to suck up the remains.