Did I Buy Emperor Scorpions or Asian Forest? Need Help Identifying!

Kade135

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Messages
30
I bought these two Scorpions at Petsmart the other day, one is a baby and one is larger. They were labeled as "Emperor" but then the employees argued with each other that they were actually "Asian Forest" and I left the store without knowing what I really got. I bought them at different times, the Baby one was sold to me as an Emperor, the bigger one was sold to me without knowing. I don't trust pet stores with this stuff, so what do you guys think? The baby one is pretty nice, the bigger one is more aggressive, not sure if it means anything. Can i house them together? Or do they need to be the same size? I have 18 T's and want to start collecting Scorps, so any help would be great!

 
Last edited:

shining

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 15, 2011
Messages
755
They both look like Heterometrus species.

How much did you pay for them?
 

shining

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 15, 2011
Messages
755
$16.99 Each
From the pictures and pricing they are both Heterometrus species (afs). Pandinus imperator (emperor) prices are easily triple the amount you paid. I'm glad you didn't get ripped off.
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
8,982
Yes, Heterometrus, you got a good deal on them though imo, and you know the younger one will last a long time if it stays healthy. When you buy adults, you just don't know how long they will last because you don't know how old they are.
 

Collin Clary

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Messages
490
Yes, definitely a Heterometrus species. If you can get clear pics of the carapace, chela, and 5th metasomal segment, I can ID it for you.
 

Christianb96

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
284
The best way to tell the two apart is an Emperor usually has a red stinger, and large bumpy claws for future reference
 

Stugy

Arachnolord
Joined
Apr 21, 2016
Messages
649
The best way to tell the two apart is an Emperor usually has a red stinger, and large bumpy claws for future reference
But I've seen H.spinifer with red stingers so yeahh... plus there are quite a few Heterometrus with bumpy claws and all have large ones too.
 

BobBarley

Arachnoprince
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
1,486
The best way to tell the two apart is an Emperor usually has a red stinger, and large bumpy claws for future reference
But I've seen H.spinifer with red stingers so yeahh... plus there are quite a few Heterometrus with bumpy claws and all have large ones too.
Pandinus claws are much more granulated and thicker. Keep in mind, Pandinus cavimanus shares these traits with Pandinus imperator, and I believe, with most other Pandinus.
 

Collin Clary

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Messages
490
The best way to tell the two apart is an Emperor usually has a red stinger, and large bumpy claws for future reference
But I've seen H.spinifer with red stingers so yeahh... plus there are quite a few Heterometrus with bumpy claws and all have large ones too.
Pandinus claws are much more granulated and thicker. Keep in mind, Pandinus cavimanus shares these traits with Pandinus imperator, and I believe, with most other Pandinus.
Alright, a few things here...

1.) Many Heterometrus species do have red telsons (H. spinifer and H. longimanus, for example), and many species do indeed have heavily granulated chela.

2.) Pandinus sensu lato is undergoing quite a bit of taxonomic work. A lot of it was awful (namely the work by Andrea Rossi), but until more work is published, we must follow the most recent publications. Thus Pandinus cavimanus is now correctly called Pandinoides cavimanus. There are also two other Pandinoides species (P. duffmackayi and P. militaris) that look incredibly similar and have very similar geographic ranges.

3.) Pandinopsis dictator has recently entered the hobby, and is frequently sold as Pandinus imperator, so that's another thing to look out for.

4. ) There are Pandinus species that look incredibly similar to P. imperator that specimens could potentially be. While many of these species are not in the hobby, with the exportation bans in place, importers may seek what they believe to be P. Imperator from other countries. Some species may only be differentiated by features best seen with a dissecting microscope. This is you are not certain about the ID of certain specimens, it may be worth it to send either dead specimens preserved in alcohol or shed exuviae from subadults to someone that can confirm the ID. There are also numerous ID keys available. I can post a few if people are interested.
 

Collin Clary

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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Jul 3, 2011
Messages
490

gromgrom

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 30, 2009
Messages
1,743
Colin, you're a true asset to the hobby :) It's great to see someone whose done their research on this genus, or at least has the links available. Kudos!

Also I'm gonna be the sixth or tenth to say HETEROMETRUS
 
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