Centruroides cf. noxious collected in SE AZ. USA
DubiaW

Centruroides cf. noxious collected in SE AZ. USA

Juvunile Centruroides cf. noxious collected in South Eastern Arizona, United States. My set up for ID needs a little work. Later this week I'll make new viewing cases.
Is this incased? Oh mah gawd. I Love incased insects, i would love to incase mine when they're gone so i can remember them forever, but i dont know how to find such pure glass. Tell me this is incased and im not talking to myself please.
 
It is encased live in the void in the middle piece of acrylic glass. The weight of the top glass is enough that the scorpion is contained while it is under the microscope. I came up with this idea last week and built these live viewing cases with my friend. I am thinking of making a set of them for various sized specimens and then listing them for sale. My friend said no one would want them. He helped me anyway because he is a nice guy. I can make some more and list them on the sales forum or you can just message me. I'm still working out the design and a technique to minimize bubbles between the glass. As soon as I'm happy with my own cases I would be happy to make some for you.
 
I had to modify my microscope to get it to focus on something that high. The platform was too thick. The platform in the picture was built out of the same material last weekend too.

I have to be really careful to wipe the platform and the viewing case so there isn't any sand in between the two surfaces that would cause scratches.
 
Would the scorpions stay still for long enough? Doesn't the strong light from the microscope bother them?
 
@MathiasVG That's why I cooled him off in the fridge for 10-20 minutes and use a light source that is pretty far away. My microscope has a mirror, no light.

I need to update the title of this media. It appears that it is, in fact, a Centruroides sculpturatus "gertschi" pase. I compared it to C. sculpturatus first and found structural differences. I haven't had time to read a paper on why gertschi phase is not considered a completely different species but my opinion after looking at the two side by side is that there should be a revision of the species since it structurally matches C. noxious much more closely. It is probably a different species than both.
 
@DubiaW I guess you will have to compare multiple specimen to make it statistically significant to draw that conclusion? Are you a scientist in the area? I wonder if scientists who are not entomologists or people who are not scientists can publish papers and get credit when they discover something in arachnids.
 
@MathiasVG
You said: "I guess you will have to compare multiple specimen to make it statistically significant to draw that conclusion? Are you a scientist in the area? I wonder if scientists who are not entomologists or people who are not scientists can publish papers and get credit when they discover something in arachnids."

I'm not sure if that was meant to be a slight against me or not, nor do I care, but I can answer your questions (and it would be the same regardless of your intent). First a little background for the sake of context.

I studied chemistry, herpetology and math at school and worked in a venom lab NTRC TAMUK under Dr. Perez who was the director and founder of the NTRC and the NTRC Serpentarium. He is considered a big name in the field of herpetology as well as his protege Dr. Elda Sanchez. His doctorate was in immunology not herpetology. Dr. Sanchez doesn't hold a degree in herpetology either, as far as I know, even though she is considered one of the most influential women in herpetology.

So the answer to your question, "Are you a scientist in the area?" is No. I am trained in chemistry, and math formally and did most of my actual research in herpetology.

You also pondered. " I wonder if scientists who are not entomologists or people who are not scientists can publish papers and get credit when they discover something in arachnids." The answer to that is, Yes. Scientists work outside of their field of research all of the time. It usually relates in some way to their original field of research but that is not always the case. Scientists often expand into other fields and become experts, publish papers and even become well renowned. Holding a scientific degree gives someone the credentials to practice the scientific method and do research and be taken seriously. Someone without a degree would have a hard time being taken seriously but it is possible to become renowned in a field of science just by working hard. For example; Bill Haast's contributions to herpetology and toxicology research has earned him notoriety in both fields, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Haast. He dropped out of school at the age of sixteen and went to a trade school for an aviation mechanics certificate.

Unfortunately I did not get a degree after failing physics twice and losing my grant. I was at the top of the curve in chemistry and only had one course left to take in that field (but needed a lot of other credits to graduate). I have made a living as a plumber and a maintenance technician for the majority of my post university life, but I have also held jobs in laboratories and even ran a commercial pesticide company. I am considering going back to school to study entomology or arachnology.

You said: "I guess you will have to compare multiple specimen to make it statistically significant to draw that conclusion?" You are absolutely correct. It would take a lot of work to hash out the genus Centruroides. Anyone who did so would be up against the arguments and protest of scientists who have already done considerable work on the genus (as it would delegitimize their work). Not having a degree would be the first line of attack. Of course this would be an ad hominem logical fallacy because evidence, experimentation and the scientific method are supposed to be the backbone of science not personal attacks. When I said about (gertschi) "It is probably a different species than both." That is just the beginning of a hypothesis. I would have to read all of the literature about that phase, species and genus before even calling it a hypothesis. I haven't made a conclusion. That would take refuting the evidence that past researchers have put forth to include gertschi in C. sculpturatus.

I would also like to point out the reality that in the pet trade a lot of the specimens are labeled Genus cf. species by amature collectors with limmited evidence. It is often used to imply that it is a best fit for that species or "looks like" and it is used outside of a scientific context. Wikipedia definition of cf: [The abbreviation cf. (short for the Latin: confer, meaning "compare")[1] is used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. It is used to form a contrast.]
 
@DubiaW No, those were simply questions, not meant to be against you in the slightest. The reason for those questions is that I have a BS degree in Chemistry and I am getting my Ph.D. in Biology on cancer and aging. But I wonder if it's possible to publish any findings on arachnids. I guess it would have no involvement with the PI of the lab I'm working in? So we can just submit papers to journals to be reviewed under our names? And since we probably won't get any free invitations for publishing papers, I guess we'll have to spend thousands of dollars out of our own pockets to have our findings reviewed and published?
 
@MathiasVG OK. After answering those questions, during spell checking, I realized that it might be a slight and went up to the top and started editing. Hopefully no offense was taken. It just struck a chord because I am a little sensitive about not finishing my degree. A situation that I wish to rectify in the coming years. When you have big squishy toes it seems like everyone is stepping on them.

Arachnology or scopionology is well within your wheelhouse with your credentials. It's uncertain if there is even a university that offers arachnology as a degree program, but many of the specialized fields don't even have degree programs. At the doctoral level you can craft your own degree plan. One of my associates is getting a doctorate in religious studies with an emphasis of primitive religions of North America, another has a doctorate in Holocaust History. They both got free rides and were offered grants. They did have to find a university that would entertain their studies. One had to move from Texas to Colorado to fund his degree. The other had to move from Germany to Vancouver Canada to finish hers. The latter has moved back to Germany and gets a stipend to fund her continued work. So the money is there, even if it is "way" over there if you catch my drift.
 

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