Scorpion
PINCHER came to us as a surrendered pet when his owner left for college and could no longer care for him. At Animal Tracks, we’ve always been a friend to arachnids, and Pincher is no exception. As a powerful scorpion, we’ve heard he’s capable of snapping a pencil in half—though we’ve never seen it happen (and frankly, we’d rather not!).
Pincher plays an important role in educating the public about scorpions, helping to dispel the myths that have unfairly villainized them. In reality, scorpions are shy creatures that prefer to avoid confrontation, and their only interest is in keeping the bug population in check. He may look intimidating, but he’s a fascinating and essential part of our ecosystem.
ORDER: Scorpiones
FAMILY: Scorpionidae
GENUS: Linnaeus
SPECIES: Arachnida
Scorpions are arthropods, they have eight legs, two pedipalps, and a tail with a venom-injecting barb. Scorpions have two venom glands that produce venom used in hunting and self defense. Scorpions do not have bones instead they have an exoskeleton made of chitin, which is similar to the shell of a shrimp.
Scorpions are found worldwide except for Antarctica. There are over 2,000 different species found on six of the seven continents. They prey on insects, arthropods and in some cases small vertebrates. Because scorpions can live in such hash environments they have adapted the ability to slow their metabolism to as little as one-third the rate for most arthropods. This enables some species to use little oxygen and live on a single insect a year.
Threats
Not endangered.
Conservation Status
LC - Least Concern