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Scorpions of Zihuatanejo

ORDER SCORPIONES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Chelicerates (Subphylum Chelicerata)

-Arachnids (Class Arachnida)

-Scorpions (Order Scorpiones)

-Flat-tailed and Bark Scorpions (Superfamily Buthoidea)

-Arrowbreasted Scorpions (Family Buthidae)

-Bark Scorpions (Genus Centruroides)

-Centruroides meisei


Centruroides meisei is a medium-sized bark scorpion, native to southern Mexico, where it occurs in tropical and subtropical habitats, including forest edges and occasionally human dwellings. It is typically yellowish to light brown. The species is nocturnal and agile, spending daylight hours hidden under bark, rocks, or debris and emerging at night to hunt insects and other small arthropods. Its venom is neurotoxic and medically significant, capable of causing painful stings and systemic symptoms in humans, although serious outcomes are uncommon with prompt medical care, and ecologically it serves as an important predator within its native ecosystems.

Centruroides meisei

Centruroides meisei

Diet

  • Carnivorous, feeding primarily on crickets, cockroaches, termites, beetles, moths, spiders, and other small arthropods.

  • Occasionally captures other scorpions and small vertebrates such as tiny geckos or newly hatched lizards.

  • Hunts at night, using highly sensitive hairs on its legs and pincers to detect vibrations from passing prey before immobilizing it with its venomous sting.

Range

  • Endemic to southwestern Mexico, where it is known from Guerrero and adjacent portions of the Pacific slope.

  • Occurs in the Zihuatanejo region and surrounding areas of tropical dry forest.

  • Its distribution is much more restricted than that of many other Centruroides species.

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, thorn scrub, rocky hillsides, woodland edges, and secondary forests.

  • Commonly shelters beneath rocks, loose bark, fallen logs, leaf litter, and in rock crevices during the day.

  • May also be found around rural buildings, stone walls, and wood piles.

  • Strictly nocturnal, emerging after sunset to forage.

Size

  • Total length: 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in)

  • Weight: Approximately 5–15 g

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