# Identifying Common Heterometrus



## G. Carnell

Hi

nothing special in this post, im just bumping myself so that i dont forget.

hopefully will start tonight.

Species:
Heterometrus spinifer 
Heterometrus laoticus 
Heterometrus petersii 
Heterometrus cyaneus 
Heterometrus longimanus
Heterometrus fulvipes (sometimes labeled H.xanthopus)

--
Selected Literature:
Kovarick 2005
Couzijn 1981

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## G. Carnell

Ok

firstly, here is the only piece of literature which most of you guys can access:


Revision of Heterometrus, Kovarik:
http://www.science.marshall.edu/fet/euscorpius/p2004_15.pdf



I will use the knowledge in this article, and couple it with what ive read/got from Couzijn, which was far more graphic when it comes to identification.


*Heterometrus spinifer:
*
10-13.5cm long
Body is shiny black, with granules all over it.
unique granulation pattern found on the prosoma ("head")







Telson can be black/brown or red or yellow in adults, in juveniles, it is white, and darkens progressivly at later moults.

there is no sexual dimorphism in this species, this means that male and female claws will be of the same general length, and body shapes would be similar, though often males have thicker claws, and a slightly longer tail (in my experience)

A picture of a typical Heterometrus spinifer can be seen here:
www.chaerilus.co.uk/21.jpg

Note well: shiny black colour, red telson, spiky granules on the pedipalps.

Another addition to post about H.spinifer, here is an example of the granulation pattern:

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## CaptainChaos

Really nice, thank you for that! I wish i had access to more Revisions/information like that of different species. (If any of you have such, pm or email would be nice  )


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## Scorpfanatic

nice geroge keep it coming my frined, im learning more again! and it wat  need to know,.. heheespacilly cant wait for the longimanus ~ guess you miss out swammis??? hehehe STICKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reactions: Clarification Please 1


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## Vixvy

these answers my questions! tnxs mr.g! wooooh!


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## EAD063

so no granulation on head would to laoticus correct?


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## Ryan C.

Correct.


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## G. Carnell

Heterometrus laoticus:

8-10cm long
Body is matt black, nearly totally smooth.
ONLY Heterometrus sp. to have no granulation on the prosoma ("head")







Telson is brown/black, though it is white in the first two instars (generally)

there is no sexual dimorphism in this species, this means that male and female claws will be of the same general length, and body shapes would be similar, though often males have thicker claws, and more pointy granulation on the interior surface of the claws. (IME)

NB: Different characteristics from different countries, so the Vietnamese morph looks slightly different to the Thai or Lao morphs.

A picture of a typical Heterometrus laoticus can be seen here:
www.chaerilus.co.uk/lao1.jpg

Note well: matt black colour, black telson, low granules on the pedipalps.

Locality: Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam

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## G. Carnell

Heterometrus petersii:

8-10cm long
Body is matt black, granulated
Like a laoticus, but with granulation.







Telson is brown/black, though it is white in the first two instars (generally)

Male is supposed to have a more "pronounced tooth" on the movable finger


See Kovarick article (post 2) for a picture, unless someone can donate me one 

Note well: see laoticus, but with granules all over body and patches on prosoma ("head")

Locality: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos

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## SimplengGarapal

Hi George,

Need help in ID-ing this Heterometrus spp.  It was labeled as laoticus I'm not sure though if its correct.


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## kahoy

SimplengGarapal said:


> Hi George,
> 
> Need help in ID-ing this Heterometrus spp.  It was labeled as laoticus I'm not sure though if its correct.



ill go with spinifer, granulation around the eyes, the bumpy face. my guess is spinifer.


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## G. Carnell

yea as you can see, the granulation patterns match with H.spinifer, as well as general morphology.

ill post some pics of H.longimanus granulation soon


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## SimplengGarapal

Thank you George and Kahoy!


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## G. Carnell

Heterometrus longimanus:

8-12cm long
Body is shiny black, granulated
Like a spinifer. but males have very long claws.
---
Couzijn drawings: just examples of granulation patterns..
H.longimanus longimanus






H.longimanus humilis






---
Telson is yellow/red, though it is white in the first two instars (generally)

Male has very long claws (see Koravik PDF) i only have supposed females to show

 NOTE: Subspecies are now void due to Kovarik, so this is just an example of other ways to differentiate, seeing the patterns differ to those of H.spinifer, these two sp are commonly mixed up 

there are so many subspecies according to couzijn.. its best to stick to the Kovarik principle

Supposedly the H.longimanus borneensis, female, due to lack of elongated claws.






see Korvarik article for pic of male

Locality: Indonesia, Borneo, Singapore, Malaysia?

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## Alakdan

Hi George!

Now that this is discussed thoroughly, I am beginning to doubt my species ID.  I have 3 different species of Heterometrus.  I will post pics of the carapace, but I will not label them with what I think they are so as not to pre-condition your ID.  I need your inputs.  Thanks!

Specimen A






Specimen B











Specimen C


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## G. Carnell

hey

i cant see the granulation too well, and overall pics would be nice
but from these pics:
A) H.spinifer
B) H.laoticus/H.petersii (definately from Indochina)
C) H.spinifer/H.longimanus (probably subadult spinifer)


ive added pics to the posts above, check them out


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## Alakdan

I'll try to post the overall pics top and side view tomorrow.

You're answers are actually same as what I thought they would be.

1. H. spinifer
2. H. laoticus (I would be happier if it was petersii)
3. H. longimanus borneensis (It actually looks very much like yours.)


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## G. Carnell

you dont have any males by any chance?

i have 2 adult females now, and 2 subadults, im praying for a male


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## SimplengGarapal

I got 2 Adult Male Spinifers if it would matter.


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## Alakdan

G. Carnell said:


> you dont have any males by any chance?
> 
> i have 2 adult females now, and 2 subadults, im praying for a male


You mean for longimanus borneensis?  I'll do the pectine count later, it's still a sub adult 6 instar.


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## G. Carnell

Heterometrus cyaneus and Heterometrus fulvipes.

*H.cyaneus*
they are unique as far as Heterometrus go
INTENSLY granulated all over the body
shines blue (hence the name) under bright light

stocky scorpion, quite short, yet wide
large nook at front of prosoma. (large prosoma)












(sorry for poor pics, this scorp is dead now)

Locality: Imports from Java (Indonesia)

*Heterometrus fulvipes*
beautiful little scorp from Pakistan/India

quite distinctive, but can be mixed up with H.xanthopus
ill add to this later..







Locality: Imports from Pakistan

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## Alakdan

Here are the overall pics as requested.

H. spinifer female

Top






Side






Front






Chela







H. longimanus borneensis.  I also determined it to be female, pectine count is 15.  Is this correct?

Top






Side






Front






Chela







H. laoticus (or petersii:? ) Male, pectine count is 18.

Top






Side






Chela







Group picture for comparisson.  The little longimanus nearly got crushed by the laoticus during this shoot .  Its a good thing she runs faster.


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## Alakdan

Notice the small longimanus chela is slender compared to the other 2.


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## SimplengGarapal

Your longimanus is a subadult right?


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## Vixvy

just my views i guess you have a petersii because of the granulations. i am 80% sure that there is no longgimanus in the group hope we can clarify this.


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## G. Carnell

IME, males and females can have the same number of teeth in Heterometrus, so you cant compare them without an adult pair ;(

im not sure if the granulation on the laoticus is real or an illusion!
though due to the "pronounced tooth" as i described earlier, it might well be a petersii

i'll scan the Couzijn KEY when i next go home to feed my scorps


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## Alakdan

George,

The laoticus carapace is smooth all over.  I thin what looks like granulation is "noise" in the image.  But I"m really confused with the longimanus.:? 

The spinifer is a confirmed female.  She already gave me 19 babies.  I think Vixvy has a female laoticus, so We'll try to mate them.  If they do the dance of love, then it is a male.

Vixvy,

I'll bring this male laoticus on our next meeting.


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## G. Carnell

yea im confused with the H.longimanus too...


theyre NOT H.spinifer, or any other species unless they are some strange morph...


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## Vixvy

@alakdan
No problem my friend!


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## Scorpfanatic

well this thread sure does guive me some good lesson! hehe thanks geroge!! well done!!!


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## Vixvy

a very informative thread! kudos to you Mr.g! this will answer some of our questions with regards with the heterometrus sps.


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## kahoy

my guess on alakdans petersii/loaticus is petersii

was'nt laoticus has a bump on its chelae on the side?


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## Ythier

Great thread George, thanks !


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## Scorpfanatic

too many heteros too lil scorp ~ theoir my first and im going back to them again ,,


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## kahoy

so what is the name of the heterometrus species that is all over green even under flourescent light, then is almost only 3.5 inch in lenght, adult female and already poped for a small sized brood, around less than 1inch. just saw it from a petshop, i hanvt purchased it coz it costs for about Php 1,500 ($30)

anyone?


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## G. Carnell

Hey Kahoy

get me  a pic, and if its rare, ill send you the money


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## kahoy

i doubt i can take a pic on that one, i just found it a few months ago, i not sure of the date but im sure its either dead or sold to other person, its on a known petshop (cartimar) and is quite far from my location, but i will look for another, they have buch of that there, also in aranque w/c is quite near to my place, but its like 1 out of a 100 find...
but if i can find another unknown het species i will try to buy it how much it will cost.

so what would be your guess George on that absolute green het?


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## G. Carnell

hey

probably H.cyaneus seeing where you are from, or perhaps this infamous H.petersii from the Philippenes is also a possibility


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## Rigelus

I brought these 2 scorpions in June as H.spinifer. At that time they were only about 4 cm's. They are now both adult (i think) or possibly sub adult. Today was clean out day and was the first i have seen of them in 3 or 4 months (apart from UV of an night time).

Anyway it's plain to see when studying Georges thread here that these scorpions are not H.spinifer, or at least not of a described spinifer morph
At first i thought that maybe they could be H.loaticus because of the lack of granulation on the head....but look at the colour of the top scorp and that is how it really looks...no camera flash enhancement here..the bottom scorpion also has a hint of brown/red but nothing like the other.
Incidently when i brought these they were jet black and the same size. 
The top scorpion, apart from being very red/brown is also the largest of the two (the picture does a bad job of showing their respective sizes)

Anyone have an idea..:?


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## G. Carnell

Hey 

theyre 100% H.laoticus, my adults remained brown for several months before turning black:

these 3 pics are of the same specimen but the darker ones are at a later data after the final moult.
www.scorpion-realm.co.uk/photos/heterometrus/def/19.jpg
www.chaerilus.co.uk/five.jpg
www.chaerilus.co.uk/six.jpg


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## Rigelus

Thanks George..


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## rex_arachne

how come my supposed H. "laoticus" sling has been very matte black since I2 (it is now I5)? could it be a H. cyaneus instead?


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## kahoy

rex_arachne said:


> how come my supposed H. "laoticus" sling has been very matte black since I2 (it is now I5)? could it be a H. cyaneus instead?


i believe h.cyaneus has a blue sheen...:?


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## Vixvy

If it came from me definitely it is H.loaticus i have sent picz of my h.spinnifer & h. laoticus to Mr.G he ID it as Laoticus hehe!


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## rex_arachne

and another thing i observed with that Heterometrus: it is more aggressive and highly strung compared to my other Heterometrus spp. (longimanus and petersii/"spinifer").


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## SimplengGarapal

kahoy said:


> i believe h.cyaneus has a blue sheen...:?


I got 2 spinifers, 1 is greenish and the other one is bluish.  The bluish one is bigger than the green one.


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## kahoy

SimplengGarapal said:


> I got 2 spinifers, 1 is greenish and the other one is bluish.  The bluish one is bigger than the green one.


PICS PICS PICS!!!


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## SimplengGarapal

Here are pics of the greenish "spinifer".  They are claimed to by "hybrids" because when they are put inside a communal tank with other spinifers or other "hybrids", one would die.


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## SimplengGarapal

Here are pics of the bluish "spinifer"


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## SimplengGarapal

prosoma comparison

bluish






greenish


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## kahoy

looks both heterometrus spinifer to me.


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## G. Carnell

yea, and both old specimens! 

the claws look weird... but who knows?


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## SimplengGarapal

G. Carnell said:


> yea, and both old specimens!
> 
> the claws look weird... but who knows?


based on the stories from different people who bought from this single seller, when they placed these "hybrid"/"spinifers" in a communal tank with other spinifer scorps, they would react violently and causing death to the other scorps.

Take note that these scorps may be wild caught.  We don't know where it was harvested though.


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## kahoy

the claw looks like it has a bump or a hump at the side, same to laoticus, hybrid? LOLOLOL!!!


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## kahoy

@ simpleng garapal, please post again your greenish and bluish heterometrus, i cant differentiate the two, i need the whole pic of the head, please include also the next segment to head, and if you can, please take a clear pic of it with the dimention of 650x800 or near to it, i think the other one looks like longimanus.


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## H. laoticus

Please help me identify this guy xD
i'm certain it's not laoticus now.


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## Longimanus

I reckon based on the ID keys... that's H. petersii. Prosoma almost as smooth as laoticus but with a slight granulation. The bluish, greenish coloration and bulbous chela is also quite indicative of petersii... 

Feel free to Correct me if I'm wrong


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## Longimanus

*More Hetrometrus for ID practice*

I profiled 5 Heterometrus specimens in my collection for ID confirmation; enclosed with close-ups depicting (as best I can) the prosoma, patella, chela, and telson as reference keys.

Almost certainly a pair of H. petersii
Specimen 1: Abaddon (male) – arrived as adult;















*note the pronounced 'tooth' as depicted in the sexual dimorphism of this species






Specimen 2: Behemoth (female) – arrived as adult suspected to be H. petersii; yielded brood















*no pronounced tooth






These 3 got me stumped. I reckon 3 and 5 to be H. laoticus due to lack of granulation on the prosoma. No. 4 could be a sub-adult H. petersii
Specimen 3: Fester (male) – arrived as 3rd instar, don't know if its adult





















Specimen 4: Gomez (male) – arrived as 4th instar; granulation on prosoma present





















Specimen 5: Phyliss (female) – arrived as 3rd instar, don't know if its adult
















Any other suggestions as to what they might be?


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## winter_in_tears

awesome thread! :clap: :clap: :clap:


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## Christoffer

Why is this thread dead?


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## dovahdactyl

None of the pics working for me


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## Outpost31Survivor

dovahdactyl said:


> None of the pics working for me


Some of the pics don't work for me either it is a old but informative thread.


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