''Olivierus martensii'' 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 end ...

in the family

Buthidae The Buthidae are the largest family of scorpions, containing about 100 genera and 1339 species as of 2022. A few very large genera (''Ananteris'', '' Centruroides'', '' Compsobuthus'', or '' Tityus'') are known, but a high number of species-poor ...

. Its common names include Chinese scorpion,''Mesobuthus martensii'' (Manchurian scorpion) (''Buthus martensii'')

UniProt UniProt is a freely accessible database of protein sequence and functional information, many entries being derived from genome sequencing projects. It contains a large amount of information about the biological function of proteins derived from ...

Taxonomy database Manchurian scorpion, Chinese armor-tail scorpion and Chinese golden scorpion. Despite its common name, this scorpion is not only found in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, but also in

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. The record from Japan is doubtful. Its preferred habitat is warm, dry areas with little vegetation. ''O. martensii'' can grow to about long, with females usually slightly larger, and has a life-span of about 4 to 6 years.

Taxonomic history

This species of scorpion was first described as ''Buthus martensii'' by German

arachnologist Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of sp ...

Ferdinand Karsch Ferdinand Anton Franz Karsch or Karsch-Haack (2 September 1853, in Münster – 20 December 1936, in Berlin) was a German arachnologist, entomologist and anthropologist. The son of a doctor, Karsch was educated at the Friedrich Wilhelm Univers ...

in 1879. Independently, Simon in 1880 described specimens he found in the gardens of the summer palace at Peking (present-day

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

) as ''Buthus confucius'', which Karsch synonymized as ''Buthus martensii'' in 1881. Subsequently, in 1950, it was transferred to ''

Mesobuthus ''Mesobuthus'' is an Asian genus of scorpions in the family Buthidae The Buthidae are the largest family of scorpions, containing about 100 genera and 1339 species as of 2022. A few very large genera (''Ananteris'', '' Centruroides'', '' Comp ...

'', a new genus established by French arachnologist

Max Vachon Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

. In 2019 the genus '' Olivierus'' was restored from synonymy of ''

'' and the species was transferred to '' Olivierus''.

Venom

The venom of ''O. martensii'' is composed of many different toxins. Over the past few decades, dozens of novel proteins in this scorpion's

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

have been identified, cloned and investigated for clinical applications. For instance, at least 51 long-chain peptides related to the

sodium channel Sodium channels are integral membrane proteins that form ion channels, conducting sodium ions (Na+) through a cell's membrane. They belong to the superfamily of cation channels and can be classified according to the trigger that opens the channel ...

toxins (''e.g.'' Makatoxin-3) and 18 peptides related to the

potassium channel Potassium channels are the most widely distributed type of ion channel found in virtually all organisms. They form potassium-selective pores that span cell membranes. Potassium channels are found in most cell types and control a wide variety of cel ...

toxins have been described, along with two peptides, ''Bm''K AS and

AS1 AS1 or AS-1 may refer to: * ActionScript version 1 * As One (Hong Kong band) * AS1 (networking) * AS-1, a Soviet-era prototype assault rifle that led to the AN-94 * Raduga KS-1 Komet, a missile referred to as the AS-1 'Kennel' by the West * ''RuP ...

, that act on

ryanodine receptor Ryanodine receptors (RyR for short) form a class of intracellular calcium channels in various forms of excitable animal tissue like muscles and neurons. There are three major isoforms of the ryanodine receptor, which are found in different tissu ...

s. Apart from having

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...

properties, ''Bm''K AS is also the first long-chain scorpion peptide reported to have

antimicrobial An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals ar ...

activity. Amongst the sodium channel-specific neurotoxins, there are a number of

muscle relaxant A muscle relaxant is a drug that affects skeletal muscle function and decreases the muscle tone. It may be used to alleviate symptoms such as muscle spasms, pain, and hyperreflexia. The term "muscle relaxant" is used to refer to two major therapeu ...

s, such as makatoxin I and bukatoxin, while ''Bm''KAEP and ''Bm''K IT2 have shown

anticonvulsant Anticonvulsants (also known as antiepileptic drugs or recently as antiseizure drugs) are a diverse group of pharmacological agents used in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Anticonvulsants are also increasingly being used in the treatment of b ...

activity in experimental conditions, inhibiting

epileptic seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

s induced in rats. ''Bm''K AGAP has both

and

antitumor Cancer can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy (including immunotherapy such as monoclonal antibody therapy) and synthetic lethality, most commonly as a series of separate treatments (e.g. ...

properties and recombinant proteins could potentially be used in anticancer treatments. ''O. martensii'', especially its tail, has been used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

for many centuries to treat various neuronal problems, such as

chronic pain Chronic pain is classified as pain that lasts longer than three to six months. In medicine, the distinction between Acute (medicine), acute and Chronic condition, chronic pain is sometimes determined by the amount of time since onset. Two commonly ...

paralysis Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

and

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1319714 Buthidae Scorpions of Asia Arthropods of China Arthropods of Korea Arthropods of Mongolia Chelicerates of Japan Animals described in 1879 Taxa named by Ferdinand Karsch