Fattail scorpion

Fattail scorpion or fat-tailed scorpion is the common name given to scorpions of the genus Androctonus, one of the most dangerous groups of scorpion species worldwide. The genus was first described in 1828 by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg.
Members of this genus are found throughout Northern Africa, the Middle East and eastwards to Northeastern India, more commonly in semi-arid and arid regions.
They are moderate sized scorpions, some attaining lengths of 10 cm. Their common name is derived from their distinctly fat metasoma, or tail, while the scientific name for the genus originates from Greek to mean "man killer". Their venom contains powerful neurotoxins, and their sting can have a potent negative effects on domestic animals and people - even causing several human deaths each year. This has led several pharmaceutical companies to manufacture an antivenom for treatment of Androctonus envenomations.

Ecology

The fat-tailed scorpion is nocturnal and hides in crevices during the day, which may also limit dehydration. Ongoing threats to the scorpions is through habitat loss by human development of their habitat.

Geographic range

Androctonus is widespread in North and West Africa, the Middle East and eastwards to the Hindukush region. Countries where Androctonus occur include : Senegal, Mauritania, Western Sahara,, Burkina Faso, Togo, Morocco, Algeria, Niger, Cameroon, Tunisia, Libya, Chad, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia,Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India.

Biogeographic subgroups

An overview of the diversity in Saudi Arabia was given in
Alqahtani & Badry, 2021

Taxonomy

The following checklist corresponds to The Scorpion Files, counties and geographic ranges are adapted from Ythier 2021, and Ythier & Lourenço, 2022.
Genus Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828:Androctonus aeneas – Algeria, TunisiaAndroctonus afghanus – AfghanistanAndroctonus agrab – Western SaharaAndroctonus ajjer – AlgeriaAndroctonus aleksandrplotkini – MauritaniaAndroctonus ammoneus – JordanAndroctonus amoreuxi – Western Sahara to Egypt.Androctonus australis – Morocco to EgyptAndroctonus baluchicus – Afghanistan, PakistanAndroctonus barbouri – MoroccoAndroctonus bartolozzii – PakistanAndroctonus bicolor – Libya to Syria Androctonus bourdoni – MoroccoAndroctonus burkinensis – Burkina FasoAndroctonus cacahuati – CameroonAndroctonus cholistanus – Pakistan, IndiaAndroctonus crassicauda – Iran Androctonus dekeyseri – Mauritania, SenegalAndroctonus donairei – MoroccoAndroctonus eburneus – AlgeriaAndroctonus finitimus – PakistanAndroctonus gonneti – Mauritania, Western Sahara, MoroccoAndroctonus hoggarensis – AlgeriaAndroctonus ishtar – IraqAndroctonus kunti – Turkey, Androctonus liouvillei – Algeria, MoroccoAndroctonus maelfaiti – IndiaAndroctonus maroccanus – MoroccoAndroctonus mauritanicus – MoroccoAndroctonus minaeus – JordanAndroctonus pallidus – ChadAndroctonus robustus – PakistanAndroctonus rostami – IranAndroctonus santi – NigerAndroctonus sergenti – MoroccoAndroctonus simonettai – EthiopiaAndroctonus sistanus – IranAndroctonus sumericus – IraqAndroctonus tenuissimus – EgyptAndroctonus tibesti – LibyaAndroctonus tigrai – EthiopiaAndroctonus tihamicus – Saudi ArabiaAndroctonus togolensis – TogoAndroctonus tropeai – PakistanAndroctonus turkiyensis – Turkey

Etymology

An English translation of the name Androctonus is "man-killer", from the Ancient Greek anḗr, andrós, meaning "man" and kteínein, meaning "to kill". The species name crassicauda loosely translates as "fat-tailed", from the Latin crassus meaning "fat" and cauda, meaning "tail", hence Androctonus crassicauda is "fat-tailed man-killer". Similarly, Androctonus australis has the species name australis from the Latin word for South, therefore "southern man-killer".

In captivity

Despite the risks of keeping such a dangerously venomous species in captivity, Androctonus scorpions are frequently found in the exotic animal trade, A. amoreuxi and A. australis being the most commonly available. The fat-tailed scorpion's main diet when in captivity consists of cockroaches, grasshoppers, and crickets. However, the fat-tailed scorpion is able to go months without consuming food. Scorpions will generally try to kill and eat anything which moves and is smaller than themselves. Fat-tail scorpions kill their prey by first crushing them with their pincers and then injecting them with venom from their stingers. Once the prey has been stung, it causes paralysis and allows the scorpion to consume it with ease. Interestingly, the fat-tail scorpion can only ingest liquids. To simulate the desert environment, the enclosure used to keep the scorpion in must be kept at a temperature of between.