Scorpio maurus is a species of North African and Middle Eastern scorpion, also known as the large-clawed scorpion or Israeli gold scorpion and lesser known as Zerachia scorpion.
| Scorpio maurus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scorpio maurus palmatus | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Scorpiones |
| Family: | Scorpionidae |
| Genus: | Scorpio |
| Species: | S. maurus
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| Binomial name | |
| Scorpio maurus | |
This is a small/medium-sized scorpion 3 inches (76 mm) from the family Scorpionidae. It has brown back and golden claws. There are many sub-species of this scorpion, 19 of which were described by Fet et al.
The venom of Scorpio maurus contains a high variety of toxins including proteases, phospholipases, protease inhibitors and potassium channel toxins δ-KTx.[1] Although its venom contains a weak neurotoxin called maurotoxin, S. maurus is not a dangerous scorpion for humans.[2] There are no records of fatalities.
Habits
editFound in very deep burrows in deserts and occasionally sparse woodland. Its habit of creating very deep burrows (up to 1 metre deep) means that in captivity this scorpion is often happiest with higher humidity: sand that is deep will be moist, thereby creating a comparatively humid burrow.
References
edit- ^ So, Wai Lok; Leung, Thomas C.N.; Nong, Wenyan; Bendena, William G.; Ngai, Sai Ming; Hui, Jerome H.L. (December 2021). "Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of venom glands from scorpions Liocheles australasiae, Mesobuthus martensii, and Scorpio maurus palmatus". Peptides. 146: 170643. doi:10.1016/j.peptides.2021.170643. PMID 34461138. S2CID 237311410.
- ^ Wood, Trina (April 15, 2016). "Scorpion Venom Yields Clues for Developing Better Pharmaceuticals". University of California, Davis. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
External links
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Media related to Scorpio maurus at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Scorpio maurus at Wikispecies
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