Known Species of the Club-Tailed Scorpion Group (IMAGE)
Caption
This is an image of a known member of the club-tailed group of scorpions. Though their characteristics vary, specimens of the three new species -- Ischnotelson peruassu and Physoctonus striatus from Brazil, and Rhopalurus ochoai from Venezuela -- inhabit the same overarching group of mostly large-bodied, strikingly colored, and sonically gifted scorpions. "Savannas, caves, deserts, open fields, and forests--you name the Neotropical landscape," says Esposito, "and we can show you a club-tailed scorpion that lives there. One wild thing about this group is that many species have the unique ability to make sounds by rubbing a specialized comb-like structure against their sandpaper-like abdomen. We think it's probably a loud way to tell predators: 'back off.'" Esposito says the warning is audible to the human ear, adding that it "sounds like hiss, or even like a maraca shaking."
Credit
© Humberto Yamaguti
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