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Scorpion
Scorpion Facts
| Kingdom: Five groups that classify all living things | Animalia |
| Phylum: A group of animals within the animal kingdom | Arthropoda |
| Class: A group of animals within a pylum | Arachnida |
| Order: A group of animals within a class | Scorpiones |
| Family: A group of animals within an order | Scorpionoidea |
| Scientific Name: The name of the animal in science | Scorpiones |
| Type: The animal group that the species belongs to | Arachnida |
| Diet: What kind of foods the animal eats | Carnivore |
| Size: How long (L) or tall (H) the animal is | 2-30cm (0.8-12in) |
| Weight: The measurement of how heavy the animal is | 10-100g (0.4-3.5oz) |
| Top Speed: The fastest recorded speed of the animal | 19km/h (12mph) |
| Lifespan: How long the animal lives for | 4-25 years |
| Lifestyle: Whether the animal is solitary or sociable | Solitary |
| Conservation Status: The likelihood of the animal becoming extinct | Least Concern |
| Colour: The colour of the animal's coat or markings | Brown, Black, Yellow, Red, White |
| Skin Type: The protective layer of the animal | Shell |
| Favourite Food: The preferred food of this animal | Insects |
| Habitat: The specific area where the animal lives | Dry desert, grassland, savanna and tropical jungles |
| Average Litter Size: The average number of babies born at once | 6 |
| Main Prey: The food that the animal gains energy from | Insects, Spiders, Small rodents |
| Predators: Other animals that hunt and eat the animal | Rodents, Birds, Lizards |
| Special Features: Characteristics unique to this animal | Enormous front pincers and curved stinger tail |
Scorpion Location
Scorpion
The scorpion is an eight-legged carnivorous anthropod, that are found worldwide. There are around 2,000 different species of known scorpion found in most countries around the world today.The scorpion is mainly found in the southern hemisphere in deserts and jungle habitats alike. The most northern place the scorpion can be found in the wild is the Isle of Sheppey in the United Kingdom, which is a small island in the North of Kent.
The general age range for most species of scorpion is between 6 months and 25 years, although the actual lifespan of most species of scorpion is unknown as they are very elusive animals in the wild and are often hard to spot due to their generally small size.
Scorpions are arachnids (not insects) and the scorpion is most closely related to spiders and ticks. Scorpions are sometimes referred to as ancient animals as scorpions have been on Earth for over 400 million years, meaning that scorpions already existed on Earth when the dinosaurs arrived.
Scorpions are generally nocturnal animals meaning that they spend the day under rocks and in crevices and then come out to hunt in the safety of darkness. Scorpions are carnivorous animals and paralyze their prey using the venomous sting on the end of their tail so that the scorpion can eat it without trouble. Scorpions also have two large claws or pincers which are located at the front of the body of the scorpion. The claws of the scorpion allow the scorpion to effectively hold onto prey in order to both sting it and then eat it.
Female scorpions give birth to live young in litters that can range from 4 baby scorpions to 8 or 9 baby scorpions. The baby scorpion climbs onto the back of the mother scorpion almost immediately after birth. The mother scorpion will look after her baby scorpions until they are able to hunt for themselves.
For the majority of the time, when a human is stung by a scorpion, the symptoms are often similar to those of a bee sting and are often just swollen and painful. However, around 50 scorpion species are thought to carry enough venom that could cause more serious harm to humans and around half of those 50 scorpion species are believed to be capable of causing fatal results when having stung a human being.
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First Published: 10th November 2008, Last Updated: 10th September 2018
1. David Burnie, Dorling Kindersley (2008) Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Animals [Accessed at: 10 Nov 2008]
2. David Burnie, Kingfisher (2011) The Kingfisher Animal Encyclopedia [Accessed at: 01 Jan 2011]
3. Dorling Kindersley (2006) Dorling Kindersley Encyclopedia Of Animals [Accessed at: 10 Nov 2008]
4. Richard Mackay, University of California Press (2009) The Atlas Of Endangered Species [Accessed at: 01 Jan 2009]
5. Tom Jackson, Lorenz Books (2007) The World Encyclopedia Of Animals [Accessed at: 10 Nov 2008]
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"scorpions fluoresce under ultraviolet light... a cat does not. scorpions are better than cats."
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