# wow this scorpion is cool!!!



## TheScorpionLord (Dec 30, 2009)

I saw this scorpions scientific name and finally be able to look for it lol anyways
If anybody knows the Apistobuthus pterygocercus" please by all means comment or PM me

whats sad is that i had a pic of this particular scorpion on myspace for years lol I thought it was just the unique specimen

anyways thanx yall and Have an awesome new year, REACH YOUR GOALS!!!!! lol
Tim


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## Nomadinexile (Dec 30, 2009)

that is cool.  nice tail!


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## H. laoticus (Dec 30, 2009)

a bit about the scorp from The Scorpion Fauna: 
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/eycb/scorpions/FApisthobuthusPterygocercus.htm

crazy looking tail lol


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## NBREP (Dec 30, 2009)

holey crap that thing is awesome


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## Aztek (Dec 30, 2009)

Yeah....

Seen it.


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## ftorres (Dec 30, 2009)

Hello,
I heard of a pair sold a year or two ago here in California.
Nice scorpions indeed.

francisco


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## Michiel (Dec 31, 2009)

Too bad that species is very hard to keep alive in captivity. They live only a couple of months to over a half year, from what I have heard. 
This is probably due to a combination of specific captive conditionds and dietary needs, I presume. 
But with that broad 2nd metasomal segment, it is a cool looking species


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## rasputin (Dec 31, 2009)

Michiel said:


> Too bad that species is very hard to keep alive in captivity. They live only a couple of months to over a half year, from what I have heard.
> This is probably due to a combination of specific captive conditionds and dietary needs, I presume.


Michiel, I was avoiding mentioning that so as to let the dreamers dream after seeing the pix on Scorpion Fauna but, oh well. Yep, to my knowledge this species is not floating around in captivity. 

Francisco, I don't know who brought them in but they're amongst the dead now or we'd still be hearing about it.


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## Nomadinexile (Dec 31, 2009)

I'm surprised no one's brought a few back in their bags from one of our bases.  Otherwise, the only way I can think of would be a local hobbyist making something happen.  I will go just about anywhere.   I only have about 10 countries, maybe 15 if I did some research, that I won't go to.   S.A. and Yemen are both on that list right now.   I won't spend the money demanded of westerners in the UAE.   That leaves Oman.  I don't know enough about Oman.  But I feel like in a large swathes of that region, between my lack of faith, and my American origin, would make scorpions about the least exciting thing that would happen to me if I went there.  Do we have any muslim hobbyists?  I would find it hard to believe that somehow, we couldn't get a handful breeding in someone's hands.


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## rasputin (Dec 31, 2009)

Nomadinexile said:


> I'm surprised no one's brought a few back in their bags from one of our bases.


You can't even bring sand back that got inside your boots by accident. They are really stringent with soldiers coming and going because smuggling is apparently a problem amongst our servicemen and women. I had a friend that was a Sargent down there describe the hoops he had to jump through to come home. 



Nomadinexile said:


> Do we have any muslim hobbyists?


I have a couple Muslim friends in the hobby, not in the U.S. though.


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## RyoKenzaki (Jan 2, 2010)

Isnt the a.pterygocercus belong to ericyhtier still alive?


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## Nomadinexile (Jan 2, 2010)

rasputin said:


> You can't even bring sand back that got inside your boots by accident. They are really stringent with soldiers coming and going because smuggling is apparently a problem amongst our servicemen and women. I had a friend that was a Sargent down there describe the hoops he had to jump through to come home.
> I have a couple Muslim friends in the hobby, not in the U.S. though.


Go figure.  I feel bad for our soldiers an awful lot.   They sure do get shafted.  Although I guess you don't want them to bring back opium or something.  But, dang, you think they would have some discretion between the two. 

Now it would have to be monitored, and have numbers kept low, but I can't imagine there being too many troops who would do it even if they thought they could.  

But, who knows, maybe I am wrong.   Well, if anyone has better connections than me, and can get all the applicable permits, I would be more than happy to go to Kuwait or Oman and collect.   I would consider other countries if offered "a known to good standing AB members", local guide.  Otherwise... I'm at a loss.


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## rasputin (Jan 2, 2010)

Nomadinexile said:


> Well, if anyone has better connections than me, and can get all the applicable permits, I would be more than happy to go to Kuwait or Oman and collect.   I would consider other countries if offered "a known to good standing AB members", local guide.  Otherwise... I'm at a loss.


Oddly enough, Iraq opened it's doors last year and it was front page news out here that Americans were "vacationing" in Iraq. Who, from the western world, would want to vacation in the middle east with all the nonsense that's going on is beyond me. Perhaps they have alterior motives not mentioned in the paper.


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## Nomadinexile (Jan 2, 2010)

I would consider countries free from civil war.  There is a lot of crazy stuff going on right now, sure.  But if you use some common sense, and go to countries/regions free from guerillas and terrorist or whatever it is you want to call them.  Oman is fairly peaceful and safe I believe, at least parts.  Kuwait the same.  There's lots of the middle east where the people don't care if you aren't bombing them.   But there are places not quit as pleasant.  I would go into rural Kurdistan through Turkey.  I wouldn't spend much time in the cities though.  No big outdoor gatherings.  That kind of thing.  But I am pretty sure there are neighborhoods more dangerous for me in Los Angeles or Miami than a rural town in Kurdistan.   Dubai is plenty safe for westerners who realize and act like they are in a fundamentalist muslim country where you don't have freedom of speech, nor freedom to insult your host.  Iranian people love Americans, but their secret police could use you as a political pawn if there is an international tiff, claim you weren't looking for scorpions, but trying to spy on nuclear plants.  So it's hit and miss over there.  YOu have to know what's going on, read the news a lot, and decide if you think you can pull it off.  Some places sound scary and are not.  And then some are just utter nightmares.  And you don't want to be there.   You just have to know the difference.  But I am sure you know that ras.   Some people though, obviously, don't have enough sense not to "wander" into iran.  lol.   I'd at least ask permission if I am going there!


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## rasputin (Jan 2, 2010)

RyoKenzaki said:


> Isnt the a.pterygocercus belong to ericyhtier still alive?


You know how old that pic is? It's old, probably longer than the natural lifespan of that species. Email him


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## rasputin (Jan 2, 2010)

Nomadinexile said:


> But I am sure you know that ras.


I'm thinking more about the range of the OP species. I've lived in neighborhoods where police don't have the balls to go to and have done some training including US FM 31-21, so I don't care where I go, my only concern would be taking a bullet from someone far enough away for me to not see them.


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## Nomadinexile (Jan 2, 2010)

H. laoticus said:


> a bit about the scorp from The Scorpion Fauna:
> http://pagesperso-orange.fr/eycb/scorpions/FApisthobuthusPterygocercus.htm
> 
> crazy looking tail lol


That link above says oman, kuwait, uae, I guess I threw Iran in there.  I interjected it because I want a Hemi in my tongs someday.  Heck, if I have to wait too many more decades, I just might use my hand.  I always said I wanted to go jumping out of a plane, but now I think I want to be in desert or jungle somewhere playing with venom.  Many decades from now of course.    I'm just getting started.   But I'm going to Iran someday...


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## snappleWhiteTea (Jan 2, 2010)

Aztek said:


> Yeah....
> 
> Seen it.


yea lol, its still pretty ill though.


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## campj (Mar 24, 2010)

rasputin said:


> You can't even bring sand back that got inside your boots by accident. They are really stringent with soldiers coming and going because smuggling is apparently a problem amongst our servicemen and women. I had a friend that was a Sargent down there describe the hoops he had to jump through to come home.


Hmm, I went to Iraq and didn't get inspected at all either on the way there or on the way back (not that I was carrying anything I shouldn't have been). With the ten bags I had I probably could have brought back a few hundred scorpions :barf: (sorry, this smiley is new and I think it's hilarious).


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## Irene B. Smithi (Mar 25, 2010)

what would be the use for the increase in the width of that one tail segment?  Why would that be different from other scorpions?


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## jayefbe (Mar 25, 2010)

Without knowing anything about this scorpion, it could possibly be for food/water storage, sexual selection between sexes, sexual competition within sexes, or a defensive structure.


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## gromgrom (Mar 25, 2010)

as much as i would love to have one, all of them are WC and no breeding reports/successful ones have been done, so wait a few years. they arent a common sp. either.


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## Aztek (Mar 25, 2010)

Orchid said:


> what would be the use for the increase in the width of that one tail segment?  Why would that be different from other scorpions?


Not even the esoteric Scorpion Dave knows that.


Could just be something that came about for no reason.


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## Nomadinexile (Mar 25, 2010)

Just a wild guess here...

But this species lives on the arabian peninsula.  Arabia consists of mostly sand, with a little more sand thrown in for good measure.   THere are also shifting sand dunes.   My GUESS is that is has something to do with either not sinking into the sand, or burrowing into it.  However, that is just a guess.   Another guess is that we will find out the truth sooner than later.    r


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## Aztek (Mar 25, 2010)

Maybe it needs some extra help scooping and moving the ever shifting sand.


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## Irene B. Smithi (Mar 25, 2010)

lots of great ideas as to why it may be that way.  Guess it would need to be observed using it to really know why it's there or how it's used!


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## Nomadinexile (Mar 25, 2010)

No, I can shoot my idea down now.  I should have known this.  I've read this page many times before, yet again, my brain fails me.   

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/eycb/scorpions/FApisthobuthusPterygocercus.htm

Usually, Apistobuthus pterygocercus does not dig but often hides under stones, pieces of wood or various refuses. Thus, some flat stones (eg. slates) should be placed in the terrarium, and the substrate should be slightly pre-dug under them.


Interesting, I thought that there was only one Apistobuthus species.   My brain is fired!

http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1636/H08-44.1?cookieSet=1&journalCode=arac


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## Nomadinexile (Mar 26, 2010)

The Scorpion Fauna of Al-Baha and Hail Regions, Saudi Arabia

Abdulrahman Al-Asmari, K., A. Abdulaziz Al-Saief, M. Nasreddien Abdo and R. Khalaf Al-Moutaery, 2009. The scorpion fauna of al-baha and hail regions, Saudi Arabia. J. Biol. Sci., 9: 96-108.

http://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=jbs.2009.96.108&org=11

This is an additional contribution to the comprehensive study of the scorpion sting syndrome in Saudi Arabia, which was collected from two regions (Al-Baha and Hail). It deals with identification of the existing and newly discovered species and their medical importance. The survey covered the major sites of Al-Baha, (Al-Queed, Al-Qura, Al-Mandig, Al-Makhwaa, Galwaa, Al-Baha and Baljurashy) and Hail, (Hail city, Baqaa, Al-Shenan, Al-Ghazala). There were 2421 specimens collected from Al-Baha Region. There were 1281 (52.9%) specimens Scorpio maurus fuscus belonged to Scorpionidae, in addition to the family Diplocentridae (Abolished and changed to Scorpionidae, recently), which was represented by the species Nebo hierichonticus (38, 1.58%). Four species of scorpions that belonged to the Buthidae family were Leiurus quinquestriatus (1052, 43.5%), Compsobuthus werneri (23, 0.95%), Orthochirus innesi (11, 0.46%) and Vachoniolus minipectinibus (16, 0.66%). A total of 1921 specimens were collected from Hail Region, The most common subspecies from this region that belonged to the family Scorpionidae was Scorpio maurus kruglovi (1522, 79.23%). The next common species was Androctonus crassicauda (120, 6.25%) Androctonus bicolor (180, 9.37%, Leiurus quinquestriatus (18, 0.94%), Buthacus leptochelys (35, 1.82%), Compsobuthus werneri (37, 1.93%), Orthochirus innesi (4, 0.21%) and Apistobuthus pterygocercus (5, 0.26%) all belonging to the family Buthidae. Androctonus crassicauda and Leiurus quinquestriatus, which are highly venomous, are endemic in Hail and Al-Baha regions, respectively, in addition to the newly recorded species of Androctonus bicolor for the first time in Hail region, without previous records in Saudi Arabia. Further studies are warranted to identify more scorpion species in these regions.


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## Nomadinexile (Mar 26, 2010)

This is very interesting article.  Not all about this specie, but it is included as one of the main "actors".  I recommend at least looking at the species involved, the number of stings, then consider the deaths involved. (1 total)


http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1678-91992003000100003&script=sci_arttext

Epidemiological study of scorpion stings in Saudi Arabia between 1993 and 1997


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## Nomadinexile (Mar 26, 2010)

Here's an idea, though I would want to confirm this.

http://www.freebase.com/view/en/giant_arabian_deathstalker

Their strange metasoma has been said to have been associated with their mating habits.


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## Nomadinexile (Mar 26, 2010)

Set of 5 good pictures. You can edit their size as well.

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/8460008_rbXRX/1/732247236_DjAQN/Medium


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## skinheaddave (Mar 27, 2010)

A good number of similar features in different taxa are used for blocking the entrance to burrows etc.  I imagine mating significance would be a secondary consideration .. an existing adaptation co-opted.  

That is just my guess, though, as to what is likely.  I have nothing to back it up.  One could also point out the strength of sexual selection characteristics in other species and propose that that is likely to be the stronger basis of selection.  I would counter that scorpion selection seems largely based on chemical and mechanical stimuli and that appearance/features have not been shown to play a roll beyond overall size.  Please someone correct me if a paper has been put out on this subject.  

Cheers,
Dave


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## Irene B. Smithi (Mar 27, 2010)

Well, lots of great information and pictures!:worship:
thanks everyone for sharing!

I would not mind having one of those, or at least seeing one in person!!!


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