Buthoidea is the largest

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

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 ...

s. Its members are known as fat-tailed scorpions and bark scorpions. A few very large genera (''

Ananteris ''Ananteris'' is a little-known genus of rare scorpions. Scorpions belonging to the genus can be found from Costa Rica to Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by A ...

'', ''

Centruroides ''Centruroides'' is a genus of scorpions of the family Buthidae. Several North American species are known by the common vernacular name bark scorpion. Numerous species are extensively found throughout the southern United States, Mexico, Centra ...

'', ''

Compsobuthus ''Compsobuthus'' is a genus of buthid scorpions. Species ''Compsobuthus'' contains many species, including: *'' Compsobuthus abyssinicus'' (Birula, 1903) *'' Compsobuthus acutecarinatus'' (Simon, 1882) *'' Compsobuthus afghanus'' Kovarik & Ahm ...

'', or '' Tityus'') are known, but a high number of species-poor or

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

ones also exist.Rein, Jan Ove (2008): The Scorpion Files
Buthidae
Retrieved June 25, 2008. They occur in the warmer parts of every major landmass on Earth, except on

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The superfamily was established by

Carl Ludwig Koch Carl Ludwig Koch (21 September 1778 – 23 August 1857) was a German entomologist and arachnologist. He was responsible for classifying a great number of spiders, including the Brazilian whiteknee tarantula and common house spider. He was born ...

in 1837.

Taxonomy

Five families are placed into Buthoidea, two extant families

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 ...

and

Microcharmidae 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 ...

, plus three extinct families. *† Archaeobuthidae (

Lebanese amber Lebanese amber is fossilized resin found in Lebanon and its surroundings. It dates back approximately 130-125 million years to the Barremian of the Early Cretaceous. It formed on what was then the northern coast of Gondwana, believed to be a tropic ...

Hauterivian The Hauterivian is, in the geologic timescale, an age in the Early Cretaceous Epoch or a stage in the Lower Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 132.6 ± 2 Ma and 125.77 (million years ago). The Hauterivian is preceded by the Valangi ...

) *

(Modern,

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy's (ICS) geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Cretace ...

Recent The Holocene () is the current geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together form the Qu ...

) *

(Modern,

) *† Palaeoburmesebuthidae (

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. Th ...

) *† Protobuthidae ( Grès à Voltzia Formation,

Anisian In the geologic timescale, the Anisian is the lower stage (stratigraphy), stage or earliest geologic age, age of the Middle Triassic series (stratigraphy), series or geologic epoch, epoch and lasted from million years ago until million years ag ...

) *† Sucinlourencoidae (

)

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q37167988, from2=Q2928885 Arachnid superfamilies Scorpion taxonomy Taxa named by Carl Ludwig Koch