DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME...pic...

XOskeletonRED

Arachnodemon
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Jan 6, 2003
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Thank you for the I compliment. "Keep it secret. Keep it safe." [Quote: Lord of the Rings]


adios,
edw. ;)
 

Reitz

Arachnobaron
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I disagree. Please, take this with a grain of salt, as I don't keep either sp., but I think pic one is a P. trans. Unless all of the P. trans I have ever seen were mis-labeled, they seem to have thinner chela than almost any australis sp. except bicolor. The second, to me, looks like A. crassicauda.

I read your post, Ed, and it has me worried that maybe the shows I've been to all carried mis-labeled scorps (which is a distinct possibility), but from what I know A. crassicauda's chela are much thicker than P. tran's.

What do you think? Am I way off?

Chris
 

gphx

Arachnosquire
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DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME

Yeah, yeah, yeah, come and talk to us again when you're not holding the telson immobilized. ;)
 

Phillip

Arachnoprince
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Actually...

I have that pic as well Darrin. :) Just thought it might not be a great idea to post it despite the disclaimer. Don't want anyone getting any stupid ideas besides myself. lol In truth it was more nerve wracking to grab the teslon due to the thrashing around factor.


And I believe that XO nailed the ID as I checked Stockwells site and compared the pics.

Phil
 

chau0046

Arachnobaron
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Mar 17, 2003
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I agree that the second pic ressembles an A. crassicauda more than anything , with the thick chela. I was checking them out , and on the scorpion files there is six different pics of them. Five of those being from Isreal, they all had the thick, bulbus, chela. But there was , however, one with thin chela, not informing where it wasd from. I think that maybe were missing out on some "key" identifing method of this spp. and others like it.

I think we`re on to something here.......


Mat:?
 

XOskeletonRED

Arachnodemon
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Chris, the reason why you may have thought A. crassicauda would have thicker chela than P. trans, is because P. trans females have narrower chela than males. P. trans males have thicker chela than A. crassicauda, though female's chela is narrower. A. australis' chela is thicker than A. crassicauda. Keep in mind, A. crassicauda is not at all commonly seen in the pet trade, and therefore, is unlikely to be seen. Movable finger of pedipalps has three principal distal granules and one terminal granule on ALL Androctonus scorpions in taxonomy. The scorpion in the pic which I stated was P. trans, is also, noticeably, a male.

adios,
edw. ;)
 

Wade

Arachnoking
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Originally posted by Sean
That is hilarious, lol@when the dude gets nailed and is an extreme pain,but then tuffs it out so he can make the gi look like a girl, did he say what kind of scorp it was???
I don't think he did, and now I can't even remember where he said was.

He's a funny guy and a great speaker...if anyone here gets a chance to see him give a talk, by all means go!

Wade
 

Reitz

Arachnobaron
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Ed,

Pic 2 is of a male? Is that because of its girth?

Honestly, this really isn't my speciality, but if it is true that females have thinner chela than makes, is it possible that pic 1 is a female and pic 2 is a male P. trans?

I realize that chela are not enough alone to ID a scorp, but honestly I can't say I've seen a set like the ones on the scorp in pic 1 on any animal other than a P. trans.

Ed, you're much better at IDing than I am, what makes you think the scorp in pic 1 is not P. trans?

Interesting debate either way. I can see why A. crassicauda would be unlikely, that was just the only scorp I could think of that MIGHT fit the bill. My guess at this point, if the sex determines chela thickness, is that both are P. trans, just two different sexes. The reason being that both have similar granulation, both have simiar color. Both have VERY similar patterning on their metasoma, and both are of similar size (bigger, from what I can tell, than most Androctonus).

Any other thoughts?

Chris
 

gphx

Arachnosquire
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Telson grabbing

Hi Phil,

I quite believe you when you say it was more worrisome grabbing the telson. That's precisely how I got tagged by a C. exilicauda while sexing it at a past ATS Conference. I thought I had that sucka securely, but I was obviously mistaken.

I've discovered a good filter to weed out the hard core collectors amongst your friends. If and when you get tagged, the hard core collectors are the ones laughing their asses off and pointing their fingers at you. I know this because I've been on the receiving end many times and it seems to be remarkably consistent.

Inconsiderate bastards, or so I thought. Then one of them got stung and I found myself laughing despite myself. =D
 

XOskeletonRED

Arachnodemon
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Chris, the reason I had stated that it was a male is because of the girth of the chela. Even female A. crassicauda's chela do not get that thick. They don't even get as thick as female A. australis and A. australis female's chela are usually the only ones even close to Parabuthus male's thickness. If the specimen in the photo had slightly narrower chela in comparison to the length of the chela fingers and chela, then it would be more likely of it being A. crassicauda but considering the scorpion's overall size is quite large, it is obviously not a young specimen and therefore, will be almost completely, if not completely developed. The specimen photographed is an adult scorpion.


adios,
edw. ;)
 

Reitz

Arachnobaron
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Ed,

So do you think it is possible that both are P. trans, each of a different sex?

Thanks for the response,
Chris
 

whoami?

Arachnoknight
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Jul 27, 2002
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Re: Telson grabbing

Originally posted by gphx
Hi Phil,

I quite believe you when you say it was more worrisome grabbing the telson. That's precisely how I got tagged by a C. exilicauda while sexing it at a past ATS Conference. I thought I had that sucka securely, but I was obviously mistaken.

I've discovered a good filter to weed out the hard core collectors amongst your friends. If and when you get tagged, the hard core collectors are the ones laughing their asses off and pointing their fingers at you. I know this because I've been on the receiving end many times and it seems to be remarkably consistent.

Inconsiderate bastards, or so I thought. Then one of them got stung and I found myself laughing despite myself. =D

Well, you've got to admit, it's pretty funny even to a non hardcore collector. A few of my friends would laugh their asses off if I was messing with my inverts, got stung, then died.

Of course, they would feel sad shortly afterwards. But they would still laugh.

And rightly so. It's funny stuff. Sort of like Darwin Awards, in a way.
 

Phillip

Arachnoprince
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Messages
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If I got tagged...

I would fully expect to get laughed at as not only would I deserve it for pushing the issue but yes I can see the humor there. :) I would hope to skip the dying part though. At least until after the Daytona show. lol

Phil
 

chau0046

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 17, 2003
Messages
477
If I got tagged...


Well i dont think i would die, But i don`t think i`d live through the " I told you so"and the "your so stupid " comments.

Mat

And for sure ......I would have a good laugh about it when i recover from it(IF I don`t die!).





;P
 

XOskeletonRED

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
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Messages
707
Originally posted by Reitz
Ed,

So do you think it is possible that both are P. trans, each of a different sex?

Thanks for the response,
Chris

Chris,

It is very likely that the first pic is a female P. transvaalicus but I would have to have the scorpion present, or very good, up-close photos from all angles required, for taxonomy to refer away from it being A. bicolor.

N/P!
adios,
edw. ;)
 

skinheaddave

SkorpionSkin
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Aug 15, 2002
Messages
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I haven't been following this thread that closely, but I do have both species so I thought I'd chime in. In doing your IDs, don't forget size. Adult A.bicolor are substantialy smaller than adult P.transvaalicus. If it is over about 3", it is definitely not the Androctonus.

Cheers,
Dave
 
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