''Isometroides vescus'', also known as the spider-hunting scorpion or spiral burrow scorpion, is a species of

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

in the

Buthidae The Buthidae are the largest family of scorpions, containing about 100 genera and 1339 species as of 2022. A few very large genera ('' Ananteris'', '' Centruroides'', '' Compsobuthus'', or '' Tityus'') are known, but a high number of species-poor ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

. It is native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and was first described by German

arachnologist Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, ticks, and mites. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly ...

Ferdinand Karsch Ferdinand Anton Franz Karsch (2 September 1853, in Münster – 20 December 1936, in Berlin) was a German arachnologist, entomologist and anthropologist. He also wrote on human and animal sexual diversity with his mother's maiden name included a ...

in 1880.

Description

The species grows to about 50 mm in length. It is mainly golden-brown in colour, with a dark brown tail tip.

Distribution and habitat

Found across much of inland Australia, except for the far north, the species occurs in

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or ...

forests and woodlands, as well as

saltbush Saltbush is a vernacular plant name that most often refers to ''Atriplex'', a genus of about 250 plants distributed worldwide from subtropical to subarctic regions. ''Atriplex'' species are native to Australia, North and South America, and Eurasia. ...

plains.

Behaviour

The scorpions are specialised free-ranging

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

predators of

trapdoor spider Trapdoor spider is a common name that is used to refer to various spiders from several different groups that create burrows with a silk-hinged trapdoor to help them ambush prey. Several families within the infraorder Mygalomorphae contain trapdo ...

s, and are often found in the vacant burrows of their prey.

References

vescus Scorpions of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Arthropods of New South Wales Arthropods of the Northern Territory Arachnids of Queensland Arthropods of South Australia Arthropods of Victoria (state) Arthropods of Western Australia Animals described in 1880 Taxa named by Ferdinand Karsch {{Scorpion-stub