| McGRINGO's SCORPIONS |
| JEEPERS CREEPERS! |
| So-called creeping scorpions are Ischnurids - in the same family as rock scorpions. They are usually found sheltering opportunistically under surface debris, or under the bark of trees. This is not always the case however - the Cheloctonus intermedius female below had dug a proper burrow and numerous other burrows in the vicinity suggested this is common practise. There appears to be some debate about the classification of the two "creeping" families, Opistacanthus and Cheloctonus - Dr. Lorenzo Prendini of the American Natural History Museum is currently DNA testing specimens as this appears to be the only way to distinguish them conclusively. Originally, I was under the misapprehension that the Cheloctonus below was Opistacanthus validus (based on distribution) - until October 2003, when I gathered a bunch of "McCoy" O. validus specimens almost double the size of the adults pictured below. Besides the size, the Cheloctonus have more rounded pincers. In both Genera, in most species the males have an obvious "tooth" on the movable finger of the pincers; females don't. |
| Found: In burrows, usually concealed under partially embedded rocks. The terrain is tufty coarse veld grass, heavily littered with rocks and stones. Date: 4 January 2003 Length: Approx. 6cm Comments: This female was excavated from a short, but well defined burrow that made a dog-leg under a grass tuft. The entrance was concealed below a stone. Other burrows close by seemed to indicate burrowing common, although they are usually found in scrapes under debris. 14 scorplings on back - see white remnants of first shedding in photograph. A month later, I unearthed another female with young no more than 2 metres from the original excavation - this one was in a shallow burrow extending from a deep rock crevice, embedded in the ground. |
| Cheloctonus intermedius |
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| Beautiful view looking back down the mountain Pass |
| NOTE: A few weeks later I released the little guys where I found them - their diminutive size makes feeding them difficult and besides, it's criminally stupid to deplete populations unnecessarily. |
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| Here's looking at you, kid! Click on the pic for a VERY close look into the median eyes of Cheloctonus intermedius. |
| Juvenile delinquents These pics were taken after the scorplings had left the mother's back - apologies for the lousy pics, but at least you can see their size (the ruler shows millimetres). |
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| Site of capture |
| SORRY! I lost this pic in the process of reassigning files for the website. Will upload it as soon as I can! |