''Hadrurus'' is a genus of scorpions which belongs to the family

Hadruridae Hadruridae is a family of scorpions. Genera: * ''Hadrurus ''Hadrurus'' is a genus of scorpions which belongs to the family Hadruridae. They are found in sandy deserts and other xeric habitats in northwestern Mexico and in southwest United Sta ...

. They are found in sandy deserts and other

xeric Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (Ancient Greek 'dry') shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this habita ...

habitats in northwestern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and in southwest

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. They are among the largest of all scorpion genera, only surpassed by ''

Hadogenes ''Hadogenes'' is a genus of African scorpions (including the world's longest, '' Hadogenes troglodytes''). This genus is distinguished by its members which have an unusually flat overall appearance that allows them to quickly get in and out of th ...

'', ''

Pandinus ''Pandinus'' is a genus of large scorpiones, scorpions belonging to the family Scorpionidae. It contains one of the most popular pet scorpions, the Pandinus imperator, emperor scorpion (''P. imperator''). The genus is distributed across tropical ...

'', ''

Heterometrus ''Heterometrus'', whose members are also known by the collective vernacular name Asian Forest Scorpion, is a genus of scorpions belonging to the family Scorpionidae. It is distributed widely across tropical and subtropical southeastern Asia, incl ...

'' and ''Hoffmannihadrurus.''

Taxonomy

There are currently 7 species of this genus which are recognized: * '' Hadrurus anzaborrego'' Soleglad, Fet & Lowe, 2011 * ''

Hadrurus arizonensis ''Hadrurus arizonensis'', the giant desert hairy scorpion, giant hairy scorpion, or Arizona Desert hairy scorpion is a large scorpion found in North America. Description ''H. arizonensis'' is the largest scorpion in North America, and one of th ...

'' Ewing, 1928 * ''

Hadrurus concolorous ''Hadrurus'' is a genus of scorpions which belongs to the family Hadruridae. 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, only s ...

'' Stahnke, 1969 * '' Hadrurus hirsutus'' Wood, 1863 * '' Hadrurus obscurus'' Williams, 1970 * '' Hadrurus pinteri'' Stahnke, 1969 * ''

Hadrurus spadix ''Hadrurus spadix'' is a large (around ) 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 species is the giant desert hairy s ...

'' Stahnke, 1940 Two species (''H. aztecus'' and ''H. gertschi'') were separated and placed in the genus ''Hoffmannihadrurus'' based on the larger distance between the lateral eyes and the anterior margin of the carapace as well as the shorter distance between the median eyes and the lateral eyes. Hadrurus and Hoffmannihadrurus measurements

Hadrurus and Hoffmannihadrurus measurements

General characteristics

The species of this genus are large (up to a max of 15 cm) and hairy scorpions with yellowish tones through their bodies although there is an exception in ''

'', a species which has a dark almost black prosoma and mesosoma while the palps, legs and metasoma are yellow in color. Not the palps nor the metasoma are in any way reduced in size.

Toxicity

Though not considered to have a dangerously toxic venom, its sting is still quite painful and unlike other big species of scorpions which defend themselves using their powerful palps to pinch the attacker. The species of ''Hadrurus'' prefer to sting.

Behaviour

The species of this genus are quite active through the night foraging for food or a potential mate. They are avid burrowers, preferring somewhat (but not completely) loose soil such as dried sand to make their burrows. If loose soil is not available, they can take shelter beneath rocks and dead plants such as ''

Opuntia ''Opuntia'', commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Cacti are native to the Americas, and are well adapted to arid clima ...

'' and ''

Cylindropuntia ''Cylindropuntia'' is a genus of cacti (family (biology), family Cactaceae), containing species commonly known as chollas ( ), native to northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. They are known for their barbed thorns, spines, and prick ...

'' during the day. It bears live young which are guarded by the female until they undergo their first molt.

References

{{Authority control Scorpion taxonomy Scorpion genera Scorpions of North America