''Hadrurus arizonensis'', the giant desert hairy scorpion, giant hairy scorpion, or Arizona Desert hairy scorpion is a large

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 ...

found in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

Description

''H. arizonensis'' is the largest scorpion in North America, and one of the 8–9 species of ''

Hadrurus ''Hadrurus'' is a genus of scorpions which belongs to the family Caraboctonidae. They are found in sandy deserts and other xeric habitats in northwestern Mexico and in southwest United States. They are among the largest of all scorpion genera, ...

'' in the United States, attaining a length of . This species is usually yellow with a dark top and has

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all th ...

-like pincers. It gets its

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s from the brown hairs that cover its body. These hairs help it to detect vibration in the soil. A similar species is ''

Hadrurus spadix ''Hadrurus spadix'' is a large (around 15 centimeters / 5.51 inches) scorpion native to the southern deserts of North America. It is a burrowing scorpion which spends a lot of time digging in the sand and enlarging its burrow. A similar s ...

.''

Habitat

''Hadrurus arizonensis'' is distributed throughout the Sonoran and Mojave deserts. In Mexico, the species' range flanks the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

and Baja California Norte. In the United States, it is found in the western two thirds of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, the

Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado D ...

and Mojave Desert regions of

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

, southern

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, and extreme southwestern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

. Arizona Desert hairy scorpions are a warm-desert species, specially adapted to hot and dry conditions. They are usually found in and around washes or low-elevation valleys where they dig elaborate

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 s ...

s (up to ) and emerge at night to forage for prey and mates. Other species commonly encountered living sympatrically with this species are: '' Smeringurus mesaensis'', ''

Hoffmannius confusus ''Paravaejovis'' is a genus of scorpions in the family Vaejovidae. There are about 11 described species in the genus ''Paravaejovis''. Species These 11 species belong to the genus ''Paravaejovis'': * '' Paravaejovis confusus'' (Stahnke, 1940) * ...

'', and ''

Hoffmannius spinigerus ''Paravaejovis spinigerus'', commonly known as the stripe-tailed scorpion or devil scorpion, is a species of scorpion in the family Vaejovidae. It is found in the south-western United States and north-western Mexico. Description ''Paravaejovis ...

''.

Diet and behavior

It is a burrowing scorpion, but is commonly found under rocks containing moisture. Its diet consists of large

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pa ...

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s, and small

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with ...

s. Its competitors include the giant desert centipede which is also a natural predator to the scorpion. This is an active and aggressive, if provoked, scorpion, which, as with all scorpions, is

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

. Like all scorpions, the giant desert hairy scorpion gives birth to live young, which remain on the mother's back for a week or more before leaving.

Toxicity

Although this scorpion is big, its

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 st ...

is not very potent, and its sting is commonly perceived to be about as painful as a

honeybee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosm ...

's sting. The venom has an value of 168 mg/kg. However, an

allergic reaction Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic derm ...

to its venom can be fatal; symptoms can include

difficulty breathing Shortness of breath (SOB), also medically known as dyspnea (in AmE) or dyspnoea (in BrE), is an uncomfortable feeling of not being able to breathe well enough. The American Thoracic Society defines it as "a subjective experience of breathing disc ...

, excessive swelling, and prolonged

pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1566546 Scorpions of North America Animals described in 1928