id this plz

scorpionmom

Arachnobaron
Joined
Dec 5, 2010
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349
Looks like a Pseudouroctonus spp., possibly P. cashi. I might also be a Vaejovid, but I'm not sure. Where did you find it, and are you planning to keep it?
 

chuch

Arachnopeon
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Jan 2, 2011
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4
i found it on my trip to mexico you can find them any where but the locals say there pretty venomus and they killed a couple of people
 

scorpionmom

Arachnobaron
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Dec 5, 2010
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349
i found it on my trip to mexico you can find them any where but the locals say there pretty venomus and they killed a couple of people
Nah, agreeing with gromgrom, it doesn't look dangerous. People could have easily misadentified it, especially since there are a lot of dangerous scorpions there. Pseudouroctonus at the most would be mildly venomous, or a "2 out of 5" on a venom scale.
 

Michiel

Arachnoking
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Scorpionism is a serious issue in Mexico, thousands of people are hospitalized or in rare cases die, each year.
Theorettically it is possible, however, most people are not very knowledgeable about these animals and their venomousness is easily exaggerated by locals. Think about it, when you live in a rural area in Mexico, what would you say to your kids? That some scorpions are harmless and others are dangerous? Most people there probably grow up with the stories that all of them are dangerous, and they tell their kids, and these kids tell their kids...etc etc...
Have no clue what species it is, doesn't look like a Buthid to me, maybe a Vaejovid, but I am not 100% sure....
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
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Sounds like the "snake" thing most of us go through when we are kids. "A good snake, is a dead snake." I don't understand the fear of snakes, my whole family is afraid of them to a degree, in-laws, everybody, but I never was. My dad tried to stop me from catching them when I was a kid. And it's like I heard my sister tell her kid when he had training wheels on his bike, "Don't take those off or you will break both your legs and you will never walk again." She did!, and she was serious with him about it when she told him that. That strategy to keep people safe works but it rubs me the wrong way also.
 

John Bokma

Arachnobaron
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Looks like a vaejovid to me too. It helps if you tell us where you found it (state).

@Michiel: thousands are hospitalized/year? Stung yes (lots), and some might go to a doctor, especially if it's serious, but I don't think that thousands end up in the hospital?

If I recall correctly the number of deaths / year are below a 100 (70-90?).

Anyway, locals make up a lot of bs about scorpions. In many places there are living 3-4 different species in the same area, e.g. vaejovis sp., diplocentrus sp., and 2 centruroides sp. And to most locals they are all somewhat the same thing.

I've had locals telling me there were no scorpions to be found, and within an hour I had found several :). And at least here in Veracruz quite some people teach there kids that the tlaconete (salamander that lives in moist places) can walk up a girls leg and nestle in her vagina... (see: http://johnbokma.com/mexit/2008/04/27/creepy-crawlies-time.html for photos of a "tlaconete").

---------- Post added at 12:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:59 AM ----------

Sounds like the "snake" thing most of us go through when we are kids. "A good snake, is a dead snake." I don't understand the fear of snakes, my whole family is afraid of them to a degree, in-laws, everybody, but I never was. My dad tried to stop me from catching them when I was a kid. And it's like I heard my sister tell her kid when he had training wheels on his bike, "Don't take those off or you will break both your legs and you will never walk again." She did!, and she was serious with him about it when she told him that. That strategy to keep people safe works but it rubs me the wrong way also.
Yeah, I try to teach my daughter not to be afraid of:

Spiders:

Juvenile tarantula (more mex arachnid photos, see: http://tinyurl.com/j3b-arachnids )

Scorpions:

Juvenile emperor. Bandages: she got scratched by a much more dangerous animal, our cat

Snakes:

Black-striped Snake, Coniophanes imperalis (more mex herp photos, see: http://tinyurl.com/j3b-herps)

Of course I am now and then worried that she might pick up the "wrong" animal, but I keep teaching her each time we hike that she shouldn't pick up anything unless I tell her it's safe. And she knows that scorpions can pinch and sting.
 

Michiel

Arachnoking
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Well, hospitalized is the wrong word, what I wanted to say is thousands of reported cases/ people that are stung, so those people must have sought some kind of medical advise or report it to a doctor, don't you think?

In Suriname, where my wife comes from, they say that if your bit by a venomous snake, let's say Bothrops bilineatus (locals them 'labaria'), a rather common snake there, you have to catch the snake before it gets the chance to drink water. If you don't, you will die. If you can prevent the snake from drinking water, you will live...This only one of the folk stories...
 

John Bokma

Arachnobaron
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Well, hospitalized is the wrong word, what I wanted to say is thousands of reported cases/ people that are stung, so those people must have sought some kind of medical advise or report it to a doctor, don't you think?
I've seen some reports (San Luis Potosi, you can find them online), but no idea how those incidents were counted (haven't read them thoroughly, just bumped into them recently). My wife got stung 4 times by Centruroides f. flavopictus when we lived in the centre of Xalapa, scorpions ended up in our apartment now and then so I collected my pets in the kitchen, the bedroom, from towels, my wife's boot, etc., but we only went the first time to the Red Cross building in Xalapa. I know that in Veracruz some people get stung by C. gracilis but don't consider it medical significant. I've been stung 3 times so far but in all cases no need for visiting a doctor was needed: C. gracilis juvenile, D. bereai, D. melici juvenile. The diplos in both cases rolled off a finger and used their stinger to get a grip so probably don't even count.

Most people here (at least that I know) go to a local doctor / medical consult (20 pesos?) because the hospital is expensive and many more people are waiting there. The cheap medical consult places are nearly on every block in Xalapa, but no idea how and if they deal with scorpion stings.
So yeah, I agree with thousands of reported cases, and it wouldn't surprise me if the actual number of stings is at least ten times higher than the number of reported cases especially with the low/non-risk species.

C. f. flavopictus sting spots stays sensitive for a few hours and then slowly the pain goes according to my wife. Haven't had the "pleasure" myself {D.

Michiel said:
In Suriname, where my wife comes from, they say that if your bit by a venomous snake, let's say Bothrops bilineatus (locals them 'labaria'), a rather common snake there, you have to catch the snake before it gets the chance to drink water. If you don't, you will die. If you can prevent the snake from drinking water, you will live...This only one of the folk stories...
I wonder if people who made those up were just pulling someone's leg or truly believed it...
 

Michiel

Arachnoking
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Thanks for the info, John....I guess going to the hospital is a costly thing all over the world :)
About the snake story, well, it depends on the people you talk to. These stories are mostly told by city folks (that know nothing about toxicity of the snakes). Amerindians will just kill any snake, because they are evil, dangerous etc etc. Creole people worship some snakes like B.constrictor contrictor (as Mami watra, the water godess).
When in you are in rural areas in Suriname, you really do not want to get bitten by a venomous snake, because you are hours away from a bad hospital :)
I have seen two hospitals in Paramaribo, Man, I wouldn't want to get a band aid in there...I mean, plants growing out of a wall in ICU????
 

RyTheTGuy

Arachnoknight
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Mar 2, 2011
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What have you been smoking? We all ready established it is scorpion, the thread is about what species it could be :confused::rolleyes::):)
ROFL ROFL :D:D:D:D:D:D I was just getting a post so i could go from Arachnopeon to a Arachnoscuire =)
 

neubii18

Arachnosquire
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Dec 14, 2009
Messages
74
That is definitely a scorpion.
Guys,I *think* he's right:D

On a more serious note,you look to have a Paruroctonus sp.There are lots of them spread out across the southwestern US,but most can't be distinguished without magnifiction.I believe Utah has P.utahensis,as well as P.Becki,and P.Silvestrii.This is just my $.50.

Edit:I didn't realize this was in/near mexico.It is still likely Paruroctonus sp. though.
 
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