Scorpion - Animals Town

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Scorpion

Type: Bug
Diet: Carnivore
Average lifespan in the wild: 3 to 8 years
Size: Average, 2.5 in (6 cm); Largest, 8.3 in (21 cm)
Did you know? Scientists aren't sure why, but scorpions are fluorescent under ultraviolet light.

What does a scorpion look like?
As part of the arachnid class, scorpions have two main body segments and four pairs of legs. The most distinctive characteristics of the scorpion are its long, clawlike pedipalps, which look like miniature lobster claws, and their stinging tail. The tail is mainly used for defense as opposed to capturing prey.

Scorpion video.

Where do scorpions live?
Scorpions are members of the class Arachnida and are closely related to spiders, mites, and ticks. They are commonly thought of as desert dwellers, but they also live in Brazilian forests, British Columbia, North Carolina, and even the Himalayas. These hardy, adaptable arthropods have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and they are nothing if not survivors.

What does a scorpion eat?
Scorpions typically eat insects, but their diet can be extremely variable—another key to their survival in so many harsh locales. When food is scarce, the scorpion has an amazing ability to slow its metabolism to as little as one-third the typical rate for arthropods. This technique enables some species to use little oxygen and live on as little as a single insect per year. Yet even with lowered metabolism, the scorpion has the ability to spring quickly to the hunt when the opportunity presents itself—a gift that many hibernating species lack.

Did you know this about scorpions?

There are approximately 2,000 species of scorpions; of these, around 40 have a venomous sting strong enough to kill a human.
Scorpions have fluorescent chemicals in their cuticle, or outer shell, which glow in the dark when exposed to a blacklight. Researchers carry hand-held ultraviolet lamps in the field to survey them at night.