The emperor scorpion ''(Pandinus imperator)'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 ...

native to rainforests and savannas in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. It is one of the largest scorpions in the world and lives for six to eight years. Its body is black, but like other scorpions it glows pastel green or blue under

ultraviolet light Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of th ...

. It is a popular species in the pet trade, and is protected by

CITES CITES (shorter acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of inte ...

to prevent over-collecting that might affect the species' survival.

Description

The emperor scorpion (''Pandinus imperator'') is one of the largest species of scorpion in the world, with adults averaging about in length and a weight of 30 g. However, some species of forest scorpions are fairly similar to the emperor scorpion in size, and one scorpion, '' Heterometrus swammerdami'', holds the record for being the world's largest scorpion at 9 inches (23 cm) in length. The large pincers are blackish-red and have a granular texture. The front part of the body, or

prosoma The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

, is made up of four sections, each with a pair of legs. Behind the fourth pair of legs are comb-like structures known as pectines, which tend to be longer in males than in females. The tail, known as the

metasoma The metasoma is the posterior part of the body, or tagma (biology), tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the mesosoma. In insects, it contains most of the digestive tract, respiratory sy ...

, is long and curves back over the body. It ends in the large receptacle containing the venom glands and is tipped with a sharp, curved

stinger A stinger (or sting) is a sharp organ found in various animals (typically insects and other arthropods) capable of injecting venom, usually by piercing the epidermis of another animal. An insect sting is complicated by its introduction of ve ...

. Scorpion stings can be categorized as mild (similar to a bee sting) to severe to humans depending on the species. Most people are not severely affected by the emperor scorpion's sting, though some people may be allergic to scorpion stings in general. Sensory hairs cover the pincers and tail, enabling the emperor scorpion to detect prey through vibrations in the air and ground. When gravid (pregnant), the body of a female expands to expose the whitish membranes connecting the segments. The emperor scorpion fluoresces greenish-blue under ultra-violet light. Accessed October 20, 2011. They are known for their docile behavior and almost harmless sting; they do not use their sting to defend themselves when they are adults, however, they may use it in their adolescent stages. They prefer to use their pincers to crush and dismember their prey. Their exoskeleton is very sclerotic, causing them to have a metallic greenish-black color. Emperor scorpions are often confused with a similar genus ('' Heterometrus''), and are one of the most famous scorpions. Different ion channel toxins have been isolated from the venom of the emperor scorpion, including Pi1, Pi2, Pi3, Pi4 and Pi7.

Habitat and distribution

The emperor scorpion is an African rainforest species, but also present in

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

. It is found in a number of African countries, including

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

, Côte d’Ivoire,

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. This species inhabits both

tropical forest Tropical forests are forested ecoregions with tropical climates – that is, land areas approximately bounded by the Tropic of Cancer, tropics of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing ...

and open savannas. The emperor scorpion burrows beneath the soil and hides beneath rocks and debris, and also often burrows in

termite mound Mound-building termites are a group of termite species that live in mounds which are made of a combination of soil, termite saliva and dung. These termites live in Africa, Australia and South America. The mounds sometimes have a diameter of ...

Feeding habits

In the wild, emperor scorpions primarily consume insects and other terrestrial invertebrates, although termites constitute a large portion of their diet. Larger vertebrates, such as rodents and lizards, are occasionally eaten. Emperor scorpions will burrow through termite mounds up to 6 feet deep in order to hunt prey. Their large claws help in tearing apart prey while their tail stinger injects venom at the same time for liquifying food. Juveniles rely on their venomous sting to paralyze prey while adults use their large claws to tear apart prey.

Conservation and human impact

File:Emperor scorpion feeding.jpg, Young female emperor scorpion kept as a pet File:Emperor Scorpion in hand John.jpg, ''P. imperator'' is very docile and tolerant of human contact. African emperor scorpion

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

contains the toxins imperatoxin and

pandinotoxin Pandinotoxins are toxins from the venom of the emperor scorpion '' Pandinus imperator''. They are selective blockers of voltage-gated potassium channels Sources The source for the pandinotoxins is the venom of the scorpion '' Pandinus imperato ...

. Due to its docile nature, large size, and hardiness, ''P. imperator'' is a popular

in the pet trade, which has led to such over-collecting in the wild that it is now a

-listed

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

. They feed readily on crickets and worms available to keepers, and they can live up to 8 years in captivity. Despite their imposing size, emperor scorpion stings are usually mild, their venom does not cause severe symptoms in most people.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emperor Scorpion Scorpionidae Scorpions of Africa Animals described in 1842 Taxa named by Carl Ludwig Koch