''Euscorpius carpathicus'' is a species of

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 en ...

endemic to the

Romanian Carpathians The Romanian Carpathians ( ro, Carpații românești) are a section of the Carpathian Mountains, within the borders of modern Romania. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of the Alps-Himalaya System and are further divided into "provinces" and " ...

. It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

of the genus ''

Euscorpius ''Euscorpius'' is a genus of scorpions, commonly called small wood-scorpions. It presently contains 65 species and is the type genus of the family Euscorpiidae – long included in the ChactidaeRein (2008a) – and the subfamily Euscorpiinae. ...

''.

Taxonomy

Numerous species were previously identified as part of the ''Escorpius carpathicus'' species complex and were later clarified to a number of distinct species, including '' Euscorpius tergestinus'' and '' Euscorpius sicanus''. However mitochondrial DNA-based

phylogenetics In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups ...

identified these as separate species in 2003. Since then, ''Euscorpius carpathicus'' has been identified as an endemic species of Romania with a substantially more limited range.

Distribution

The range of ''Euscorpius carpathicus'' is limited to the Carpathians and further fragmented into three isolated areas: the western portion of the Southern Carpathians (also known as the

Banat Mountains The Banat Mountains ( ro, Munții Banatului; hu, Bánsági-hegyvidék) are a number of mountain ranges in Romania, considered part of the Western Romanian Carpathians (''Carpații Occidentali Românești'') mountain range. The Banat Mountains ...

), the

Olt River The Olt (Romanian and Hungarian; german: Alt; la, Aluta or ', tr, Oltu, grc, Ἄλυτος ''Alytos'') is a river in Romania. It is long, and its basin area is . It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its average discha ...

gorge inside Cozia National Park, and the

Buzău Mountains The Buzău Mountains are a set of six mountains ranges in Romania which are part of the Curvature Carpathians region of the Outer Eastern Carpathians. These six mountain ranges are as follows: * * * * * *. The Penteleu and Ivănețu Massifs are ...

. It is likely that the fragmentation of these areas is due to

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

. The upper altitude of its range is believed to be 450 meters. The clay substratum in

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

areas of the Carpathians is believed to be important for ''Euscorpius carpathicus'' to survive the winters as it burrows into cracks and holes, as is common in other ''Euscorpius'' species. ''Euscorpius carpathicus'' is also found

overwintering Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activi ...

in areas with bush cover that create warmer microclimates in river valleys.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q430796 Euscorpiidae Scorpions of Europe Fauna of Romania Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Animals described in 1767