5 Scorpion Facts That Will Surprise You

1. Scorpions can shed their tails and then die of constipation

If you ask anyone what animal sheds its tail to distract a predator, the answer is likely to be: "Lizard!". In general, not all of these reptiles can do this, but many really are savedFor Constipated Scorpions, Females Suffer Reproductively. Males, Not So Much / Smithsonian Magazine In a similar way.

But lizards don't have a monopoly on this ability. Scorpios can also sacrifice a little to be saved.

So, when a predator grabs a representative of the species Ananteris balzani by the tail, he easily throws it away and runs away. But this does not bring happiness to the scorpion. The fact is that the anus of the arachnid locatedHow the Scorpion Lost Its Tail (And Its Anus) / National Geographic next to the sting, and with the tail torn off, the scorpion simply cannot defecate.

Therefore, the tailless scorpion is urgently looking for a female in order to mate with her and have time to leave at least some memory of himself before he dies of constipation. The crippled poor man has little chance, but his perseverance rises sharply.

2. Scorpions glow under ultraviolet light

If you look at a scorpion under an ultraviolet lamp - or under the light of the moon - it will shine with a bright blue-green light. Scientists aren't exactly sure why this is happening, but there are three good reasons.

First, glow helpsScorpions make a fluorescent compound that could help protect them from parasites / ScienceDaily arachnids find a mate in the dark. These creatures are active at dusk and at night, and the ability to quickly detect their own kind when there is a lack of light is very useful to them.

Secondly, substances that developScorpions make a fluorescent compound that could help protect them from parasites / ScienceDaily the outer covers of a scorpion reflect ultraviolet and can serve as a kind of sunscreen. It won't hurt when you live in hot climate.

And finally, phthalic acid ester, which is part of compoundScorpions make a fluorescent compound that could help protect them from parasites / ScienceDaily fluorescent compounds on the body of a scorpion, perfectly protects the animal from fungi and parasites.

3. Previously, scorpions lived in the oceans and reached three meters in length.

Modern scorpions are not impressive in size: the largest, imperial, MaybeM. Rubio. Scorpions: Everything about Purchase, Care, Feeding, and Housing reach a length of only 20-23 cm.

But the ancestors of the current insects were much more severe creatures. Eurypterids, they are also racoscorpions, who livedOh E. Tetlie. Distribution and dispersal history of Eurypterida (Chelicerata) / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology in the Paleozoic (from 467 to 248 million years ago), they reached a length of 2–3 m. They ate fish and smaller aquatic arthropods.

They didn't have venomous tails yet. And who needs poison when you are the heaviest predator on the planet?

Later, during Great Permian extinction, large eurypterids disappeared, and small ones learned to breathe atmospheric air, went to land and began to slowly turn into modern scorpions.

4. In Pakistan, scorpions are used instead of tobacco

What do you think, what use can be found for scorpions? Fill pots with them and throw them at the advancing Roman army, as the defenders of the besieged city of Hatra were rumored to do? Or There is them fried as traditionally arriveIn China, scorpions are a tasty delicacy / Punch Newspapers in Shandong province in China? so or createJ. L. Bologna, J. L. Jorizzo, R/P. Rapini. Dermatology from their poison a cure for skin diseases and autoimmune diseases?

However, the inhabitants of sunny Pakistan went further - they are scorpions smokeSmoking dead scorpions is the latest addiction in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa / Scroll.in. The fact is that the poison of some species has hallucinogenic effects. And locals who want to experience new sensations use this.

Scorpions are dried, ground into powder and stuffedSmoking dead scorpions is the latest addiction in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa / Scroll.in pipes, sometimes mixed with herbs or dried mutton droppings. Naturally, smoking poison does not add health to people, but arachnid lovers do not think about this - in terms of medicine, Pakistan is still a little behind other countries.

5. Scorpions carry their offspring on their backs and sometimes snack on them.

Scorpios are strange guys who are not like their relatives, spiders. Unlike the latter, they do not lay eggs and do not weave cobwebs and cocoons, but immediately give birth to live cubs.

Sometimes the pregnancy of the female can last up to a year. And when it's time to give birth, she lays downG. A. Polis. The Biology of Scorpions its back part of the body under itself and wraps it with claws in order to have time to quickly pick up the kids and put them on its back. There they will ride from 5 to 25 days, depending on the species. If the cub falls off his mother or runs away, sensing danger, he will later try to come back.

True, scorpions cannot be called exemplary parents: if the female is hungry and cannot find prey, she can easily remove one or two offspring from her back and have supperG. A. Polis. The Biology of Scorpions them.