Scorpions
- Pronunciation
- /SKOR-pee-uhns/
- Category
- Taxonomy
- Singular
- Scorpion
- Plural
- Scorpions
Definition
An order of predatory arachnids (Arachnida: Scorpiones) characterized by a prosoma bearing large modified as grasping chelae, four pairs of legs, and a segmented metasoma terminating in a with a venomous stinger. Scorpions are primarily , use their pectines for chemoreception and mechanoreception, and exhibit complex courtship including the 'promenade à deux.' With over 2,500 described across 22 extant , they occupy diverse from deserts to tropical forests on all continents except Antarctica, representing one of the oldest terrestrial lineages with a fossil record extending 435 million years.
Etymology
From Latin scorpio, scorpionis, from Greek skorpios.
Example
The bark scorpion Centruroides sculpturatus (Buthidae) is the most venomous in North America, with neurotoxic venom causing severe autonomic dysfunction in humans.
Related Terms
Usage Notes
Scorpiones is the formal ordinal name; 'scorpion' refers to individual specimens or the group informally. Distinguish from pseudoscorpions (Pseudoscorpiones) and whip scorpions (Thelyphonida/Uropygi), which lack the characteristic segmented tail with terminal stinger. currently under revision due to genomic studies; -level classification remains fluid.