Fattail scorpion

Fattail scorpion
	Arabian fat-tailed scorpion, Androctonus crassicauda.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Scorpiones
Family:	Buthidae
Genus:	Androctonus; Ehrenberg, 1828
Diversity
	About 18 species

Fattail scorpion or fat-tailed scorpion is the common name given to scorpions of the genus Androctonus, one of the most dangerous groups of scorpion species in the world.^[1] They are found throughout the semi-arid and arid regions of the Middle East and Africa.^[1] They are moderate sized scorpions, attaining lengths of 10 cm (just under 4 in).^[2] Their common name is derived from their distinctly fat metasoma, or tail, while the Latin name originates from Greek and means "man killer".^[3] Their venom contains powerful neurotoxins and is especially potent.^[1] Stings from Androctonus species are known to cause several human deaths each year.^[1] Several pharmaceutical companies manufacture an antivenom for treatment of Androctonus envenomations.^[4]

Geographic range

Androctonus is widespread in North and West Africa, the Middle East and eastwards to the Hindukush region. Countries where Androctonus species live include: Egypt, Israel, India, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Pakistan and Morocco.

Etymology

A rough English translation of the name Androctonus is "man-killer", from the Ancient Greek anḗr, andrós (ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός), meaning "man" and kteínein (κτείνειν), meaning "to kill". Crassicauda means fat-tailed, from the Latin crassus meaning "thick" or "fat" and cauda, meaning "tail". Androctonus crassicauda is widespread throughout the Middle East and its name means "fat-tailed man-killer". Similarly, the Latin word for South is australis, from which Androctonus australis, "southern man-killer", derives.

Taxonomy

Androctonus bicolor: The Black fat-tail; note the very slim pedipalps compared to Androctonus crassicauda

Taxonomic reclassification is ongoing, sources tending to disagree on the number of species.

Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828 (29 species):

Androctonus aeneas C. L. Koch, 1839*
Androctonus afghanus Lourenço & Qi, 2006*
Androctonus aleksandrplotkini Lourenço & Qi, 2007*
Androctonus amoreuxi (Audouin, 1826)
Androctonus australis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Androctonus baluchicus (Pocock, 1900)*
Androctonus barbouri (Werner, 1932)*
Androctonus bicolor Ehrenberg, 1828
Androctonus cholistanus Kovarik & Ahmed, 2013*
Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807)
Androctonus dekeyseri Lourenço, 2005*
Androctonus donairei Rossi, 2015*
Androctonus eburneus (Pallary, 1928)*
Androctonus finitimus (Pocock, 1897)
Androctonus gonneti Vachon, 1948*
Androctonus hoggarensis (Pallary, 1929)
Androctonus liouvillei (Pallary, 1924)*
Androctonus maelfaiti Lourenço, 2005*
Androctonus mauritanicus (Pocock, 1902)
Androctonus maroccanus Lourenço, Ythier & Leguin, 2009*
Androctonus pallidus Lourenço, Duhem & Cloudsley-Thompson, 2012*
Androctonus robustus Kovarik & Ahmed, 2013*
Androctonus santi Lourenço, 2015*
Androctonus sergenti Vachon, 1948
Androctonus simonettai Rossi, 2015*
Androctonus tenuissimus Teruel, Kovarik & Turiel, 2013*
Androctonus tigrai Lourenço, Rossi & Sadine 2015*
Androctonus togolensis Lourenço, 2008*
Androctonus tropeai Rossi, 2015*

In captivity

Androctonus australis in a terrarium with Saharan sand

Despite the risks of keeping such a dangerously venomous species in captivity, Androctonus scorpions are frequently found in the exotic animal trade,^[where?] A. amoreuxi and A. australis being the most commonly available. The fat-tailed scorpion's main diet when in captivity consists of cockroaches, grasshoppers, and crickets. Scorpions will generally try to kill and eat anything which moves and is smaller than themselves^{[citation needed]}. To simulate the desert environment, the enclosure used to keep the scorpion in must be kept at a temperature of between 26 and 30 degrees Celsius (79–86 °F)^{[citation needed]}.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Hendrixson, B. E. 2006. Buthid scorpions of Saudi Arabia, with notes on other families (Scorpiones: Buthidae, Liochelidae, Scorpionidae). In W. Büttiker, F. Krupp, I. Nader & W. Schneider (eds.), Fauna of Arabia (pp. in press, ~100 pages). Basel, Switzerland: Karger Libri.
^ "Arabian fat-tailed scorpion videos, photos and facts - Androctonus crassicauda | Arkive". Archived from the original on 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
^ "Dictionary of Scientific Scorpion Names" (PDF).
^ "Antidotes In Depth, Jeffrey N. Bernstein" (PDF).

External links

The Scorpion Files: Buthidae
Treatment of Androctonus stings at eMedicine
Treatment of Androctonus stingsError: "Q593236" is not a valid Wikidata entity ID.

[siss-n-hend-1] Hendrixson, B. E. 2006. Buthid scorpions of Saudi Arabia, with notes on other families (Scorpiones: Buthidae, Liochelidae, Scorpionidae). In W. Büttiker, F. Krupp, I. Nader & W. Schneider (eds.), Fauna of Arabia (pp. in press, ~100 pages). Basel, Switzerland: Karger Libri.

[arkive-2] "Arabian fat-tailed scorpion videos, photos and facts - Androctonus crassicauda | Arkive". Archived from the original on 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2017-09-12.

[3] "Dictionary of Scientific Scorpion Names" (PDF).

[4] "Antidotes In Depth, Jeffrey N. Bernstein" (PDF).

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