''Isometroides'' is a genus 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 ...

s 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 ...

with two species. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to, and found widely across, inland mainland

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 ...

Eugen von Keyserling Eugen von Keyserling (22 March 1833 in Pockroy, Lithuania – 4 April 1889 in Dzierżoniów, Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czec ...

in 1885.

Species

* ''

Isometroides vescus ''Isometroides vescus'', also known as the spider-hunting scorpion or spiral burrow scorpion, is a species of scorpion in the Buthidae Family (biology), family. It is native to Australia, and was first described by German arachnology, arachnolog ...

'' (Karsch, 1880) * '' Isometroides angusticaudus'' Keyserling, 1885 The genus has sometimes been considered

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 ...

, with ''I. angusticaudus'' a synonym of ''I. vescus''.

Distribution and habitat

Found across much of inland Australia, the scorpions occur in woodland and semi-arid country.

Behaviour

The scorpions are specialised predators of burrowing

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

References

Scorpions of Australia Scorpion genera 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) Animals described in 1885 Taxa named by Eugen von Keyserling {{Scorpion-stub