''Centruroides bicolor'' is a

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 ...

bark scorpion :''The striped bark scorpion and the closely related Baja California bark scorpion are also called bark scorpions.'' The Arizona bark scorpion (''Centruroides sculpturatus'', once included in '' Centruroides exilicauda'') is a small light brown ...

from

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. Its

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

"''bicolor''" is from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

meaning "two colored" and refers to the markings of this species.The Norwegian University of Science and Technology "Scorpion Files": ''Centruroides bicolor''
/ref>

Range

This species is concentrated on the southern

Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

Habitat

Within its range, ''C. bicolor'' can be found the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

understory, where it can be found among the vegetation. It is also known to frequent houses and other building where shelter and food are abundant. It has been recorded from

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

to .

Description

''Centruroides bicolor'' is a relatively large scorpion and grows up to 120 mm in length. It has a very showy coloration. Most of its body is yellowish in color, except for its blackish pincers, final tail segments,

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

and part of the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

. It has been described as "very beautiful scorpion"

Venom

The venom contains excitatory toxins that release catecholamines, causing adrenergic cardiac effects. An antivenom was developed by Mexican company ''Bioclon''.

Captivity

Though one expert guesses that "this species is probably not kept in captivity by hobbyists", this species is indeed bred and kept as a pet.insectgeeks.com Gallery: Centruroides bicolor molting

Reproduction

Prior to mating, members of this species engage in a

courtship dance A courtship display is a set of display behaviors in which an animal, usually a male, attempts to attract a mate; the mate exercises choice, so sexual selection acts on the display. These behaviors often include ritualized movement ("dances"), ...

that can last for several minutes and sometimes an entire day or more. As part of this ritual the scorpions repeatedly raise and cross their tails, push and pull at one another, and then separate. Eventually, after a series of contractions, the male produces an off-white

spermatophore A spermatophore or sperm ampulla is a capsule or mass containing spermatozoa created by males of various animal species, especially salamanders and arthropods, and transferred in entirety to the female's ovipore during reproduction. Spermatophores ...

, which contains

sperm Sperm is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, whi ...

and hardens on contact with air. After this packet of sperm is introduced to the female's genital opening she becomes aggressive towards her mate and sometimes devours him in an episode of sexual cannibalism.Species of Costa Rica (in Spanish)
Gestation for this species takes 60 – 90 days. After being born, immature individuals instinctively climb up to the back of the mother and stay there until their first molt. Females have been observed carrying over fifty of their young in this manner.

Similar species

''Centruroides bicolor'' belongs to the Gracilis species group. All of the species in this group are characterized by their long, narrow pedipalps and overall relatively large size.Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit "Scorpion of the Day":''Centruroides limbatus''
'' C. limbatus'' closely resembles ''C. bicolor'' but these two species can be discerned from each other by the color of the pincers as well as more subtle characteristics.

Bibliography

*Viquez, Carlos, ''Escorpiones de Costa Rica'',

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q951811 Centruroides Arthropods of Central America Animals described in 1898