Centruroides sculpturatus versus Paravaejovis sp. ID?

[gzophia]

Hello everyone,

I am planning on purchasing a Paravaejovis sp. in a week or two, but I am now concerned about how much some members of this genus resemble Centruroides sculpturatus-- which I do NOT want at all costs.
Additionally, they have ranges that overlap, especially P. spinigerus (which is commonly found in Arizona with C. sculpturatus).

Personally, I don't trust my seller's IDs too much and would rather confirm the species myself. I am wondering if there is a way to visually tell these two species apart.

Thanks.

 

[MorbidArachnid]

They're both amazing scorpions, but I can definitely understand the concern with ID!

These two above are Centruroides sculpturatus. Note the uniform yellowish orange color, narrow pedipalps with long fingers, and the narrow tail that doesn't have any striping or large spikes on it. Some variants of them can have a bit more patterning on the body, but this wont extend onto the tail.

This is Paravaejovis spinigerus. Right away you can see the darker brown coloration, the fat pedipalps with shorter fingers, and the thick prominently striped tail.

A view of this tail from the size shows distinct granulated carinae with prominent terminal spikes on the dorsal ones. The tail would be my recommendation for the easiest and fastest way to distinguish between these two species, a striped, thick, spikey tail is Paravaejovis spinigerus, a long thin smoother tail is Centruroides sculpturatus. Obviously there's a lot more scorpions in Arizona than just these two species, but as far as the ones you're likely to encounter in the pet hobby right now that's how you can tell the difference between these two.

 

[gzophia]

Thank you so much; that is a lifesaver! I'll take careful note of it.

A view of this tail from the size shows distinct granulated carinae with prominent terminal spikes on the dorsal ones. The tail would be my recommendation for the easiest and fastest way to distinguish between these two species, a striped, thick, spikey tail is Paravaejovis spinigerus, a long thin smoother tail is Centruroides sculpturatus. Obviously there's a lot more scorpions in Arizona than just these two species, but as far as the ones you're likely to encounter in the pet hobby right now that's how you can tell the difference between these two.

Fantastic, that's quite straightforward! Looks like this is a case where common names can be extremely useful, haha!

They're both amazing scorpions, but I can definitely understand the concern with ID!

Definitely; I just don't think that I'm ready for C. sculpturatus quite yet.

 

[HOITrance]

Definitely; I just don't think that I'm ready for C. sculpturatus quite yet.

Is it just the venom potency potential you are worried about? Personally after raising an AFS and an emp, I jumped into hotter scorps. I also have raised to maturity several Old World tarantulas, so speed and venom potency ( although drastically different to scorpion venom by leaps and bounds) were something I have already worked around. I haven't branched out into some of the super hot scorps yet though. Hottest I have is T.stigmurus and H.hottentotta.

Just curious is all as I am trying to learn as much as I can about other scorpions as that is my focus right now since my t collection is at capacity lol

 

[gzophia]

Is it just the venom potency potential you are worried about? Personally after raising an AFS and an emp, I jumped into hotter scorps. I also have raised to maturity several Old World tarantulas, so speed and venom potency ( although drastically different to scorpion venom by leaps and bounds) were something I have already worked around. I haven't branched out into some of the super hot scorps yet though. Hottest I have is T.stigmurus and H.hottentotta.

Just curious is all as I am trying to learn as much as I can about other scorpions as that is my focus right now since my t collection is at capacity lol

Yeah, the venom is my concern. I'm still quite young and have an even younger sister who has several health issues already. Plus, we keep hamsters a lot and let them run around sometimes. I don't want accidents to happen.

I mainly specialize in amblypygi and uropygi anyway, but I do love scorpions too! Amazing arachnids.

 

[HOITrance]

Yeah, the venom is my concern. I'm still quite young and have an even younger sister who has several health issues already. Plus, we keep hamsters a lot and let them run around sometimes. I don't want accidents to happen.

AHHH ok, that makes 100% sense! Yeah, if my kids were still young I wouldnt have old world tarantulas or hot scorps either. Plenty of amazing, non-medically significant species out there to enjoy!

 

[gzophia]

AHHH ok, that makes 100% sense! Yeah, if my kids were still young I wouldnt have old world tarantulas or hot scorps either. Plenty of amazing, non-medically significant species out there to enjoy!

Yes indeed! I do agree; it's a fascinating world of arachnids out there with something for everybody