''Rhopalurus junceus'', the red scorpion or blue scorpion, is an

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

, one of 36 different types 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 ...

found on

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, as well as parts of

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. ...

. It is called "blue scorpion" due to the peculiar

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

tone on its tail and stinger; it is also known as "red scorpion" because it has a reddish dark body.Arreola, G. (24, Mayo 2006)
Estudian alacrán azul cubano por las propiedades curativas de su veneno, además de las relacionadas con el cáncer
''La Jornada''.

Habitat

''Rhopalurus junceus'' can inhabit

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s ranging from

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

forests to semi-desert areas. They are commonly found under rocks or fallen trees and throughout the

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

vegetation within the

Bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

s.Teruel, R. (n.d.)
Rhopalurus junceus (Herbst, 1800)

Description

Full-grown adults reach in length. The body is yellowish brown, pink, orange, with a red or purple tail, a single stinger and the eight limbs darker, burgundy, purple or blackish, with a black triangle intercular. R. junceus has a life expectancy of three to five years, although lack of food results in only 15% reaching adulthood. Every year, hundreds of persons are stung by this scorpion in

, but these stings are not dangerous because the

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 ...

has an LD50 of 8.0 mg / kg, which is far more venom than is carried in the stinger.

Escoazul

''Escoazul'' or ''escozul'' (from escorpión azul - in Spanish: blue scorpion - the name by which it is known in

) refers to a mixture used in Cuban traditional medicine as an anti-inflammatory. The composition may vary, but always contains a diluted dose of ''Rhopalurus junceus'' venom.

References

Buthidae Arthropods of Central America Arthropods of Cuba Arthropods of the Dominican Republic {{scorpion-stub