''Akrav israchanani'' is an extinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

scorpion 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 end ...

s from the

Ayyalon Cave The Ayyalon Cave ( he, מערת איילון) is a large limestone cave near Ramla, Israel in which new species of crustaceans were discovered in April 2006. It has been studied for its complex food web, which survived for millions of years without ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

.Levy, 2007 "The first troglobite scorpion from Israel and a new chactoid family (Arachnida: Scorpiones)

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Description

''Akrav israchanani'' was an eyeless, brown, troglobitic scorpion of about 50mm in length first described from only 20 dry, cuticular remains of hollow carcasses. The combinations of characteristics was unusual enough for the scorpion to be placed in its own,

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

family, however this has been called into question by later researchers.Victor Fet, Michael E. Soleglad & Sergei L. Zonstein, 2011 "The genus Akrav Levy, 2007 (Scorpiones: Akravidae) revisited

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Habitat and Distribution

The scorpion was originally known only from the Ayyalon Cave in Israel, a deep limestone cave, isolated from rainwater and the surface by a layer of

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

. The

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

of the scorpion is inferred from the lack of live or recently dead specimens. In December 2015, more scorpion remains were found in the nearby Levana Cave.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1941548 Endemic fauna of Israel Animals described in 2007 Extinct arachnids Scorpions