Stridulation

[Richard_uk]

I have had my unidentified heterometrus sp. for nearly a year now and yesterday, for the very first time it produced a hissing noise when I moved it to clean out the tank. How does it produce the noise? As far as I was aware, the scorpion was not moving or doing anything unusual at the time. Can it be caused by the pectines? The noise was sort of like when someone runs those bristly drumstick things (please feel free to insert proper name here!) lightly over the skin of a drum.

 

[Reitz]

Well, the bristely drumstick things are called brushes.

As for the scorp, I'm not very good with that genus. Sorry

Chris

 

[skinheaddave]

Heterometrus stridulate using bristles or granules located on the proximal pedipalp and first leg segments. In effect, your bristle analogy was apt. Rhopalurus stridulates using its pectines.

Cheers,
Dave