''Scorpio maurus'' is a species of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

n and

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern

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 ...

, also known as the large-clawed scorpion or Israeli gold scorpion and lesser known as Zerachia scorpion. This is a small/medium-sized scorpion from the family

Scorpionidae The Scorpionidae (burrowing scorpions or pale-legged scorpions) make up the superfamily Scorpionoidea. The family was established by Pierre André Latreille Pierre André Latreille (; 29 November 1762 – 6 February 1833) was a French zool ...

. It has brown back and golden

claw A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...

s. There are many sub-species of this scorpion, 19 of which were described by Fet et al. The venom of ''Scorpio maurus'' contains a high variety of toxins including proteases, phospholipases, protease inhibitors and potassium channel toxins δ-KTx. Although its venom contains a weak neurotoxin called maurotoxin, ''S. maurus'' is not a dangerous scorpion for humans. There are no records of fatalities.

Habits

Found in very deep

burrow An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of sh ...

s in

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

s and occasionally sparse

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

. Its habit of creating very deep burrows (up to 1 metre deep) means that in captivity this scorpion is often happiest with higher

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

: sand that is deep will be moist, thereby creating a comparatively humid burrow.

References

External links

Information on ''Scorpio maurus'' from The Scorpion Files
Scorpionidae Animals described in 1758 Invertebrates of North Africa Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Scorpion-stub