Parabuthus transvaalicus

Parabuthus transvaalicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Scorpiones
Family:	Buthidae
Genus:	Parabuthus
Species:	P. transvaalicus
Binomial name
Parabuthus transvaalicus (Purcell, 1899)

Parabuthus transvaalicus is a species of scorpion from southern Africa. It is also known as "Dark Scorpion".

Description

P. transvaalicus grows to a length of 90–110 millimetres (3.5–4.3 in), and is dark brown or black in colour.^[1] Its pincers are thin, but its tail is thickened, with the sting segment being as wide as the rest of the tail.^[1] It is nocturnal, resting in a shallow burrow under rocks during the day.^[1] It resembles Parabuthus villosus, which is less strictly nocturnal, hairier and has a more westerly distribution.^[1]

Distribution

P. transvaalicus is found in deserts, scrublands and semi-arid regions of Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa.^[2]

Sting

P. transvaalicus is a dangerous scorpion, which can both sting and spray its venom.^[1] The first droplet of venom differs from the rest, and is referred to as "pre-venom".^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Vincent Carruthers (2005). "Spiders and other arachnids". The Wildlife of Southern Africa: A Field Guide to the Animals and Plants of the Region. Struik. pp. 14–27. ISBN 9781868724512. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QygFIjP9jYUC&pg=PT40. 
2. ^ Jan Ove Rein (2010). "Parabuthus transvaalicus (Purcell, 1899)". The Scorpion Files. Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet. http://www.ntnu.no/ub/scorpion-files/p_transvaalicus.php. Retrieved November 2, 2010. 
3. ^ Bora Inceoglu, Jozsef Lango, Jie Jing, Lili Chen, Fuat Doymaz, Isaac N. Pessah & Bruce D. Hammock (2003). "One scorpion, two venoms: prevenom of Parabuthus transvaalicus acts as an alternative type of venom with distinct mechanism of action". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100 (3): 922–927. doi:10.1073/pnas.242735499.