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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 nigrescens is a medium to large bark scorpion, native to southern Mexico and parts of Central America, where it inhabits tropical forests, scrublands, and human-modified environments. It is typically dark brown to nearly black. Like other Centruroides species, it is nocturnal, commonly sheltering during the day under bark, rocks, or debris and emerging at night to actively hunt insects and other arthropods. Its venom is medically significant, capable of causing intense pain and neurotoxic symptoms in humans, though severe reactions are uncommon and the species plays an important ecological role as an effective predator controlling insect populations.

Centruroides nigrescens

Centruroides nigrescens

Diet

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

  • Occasionally preys on small geckos, juvenile lizards, and other scorpions.

  • Hunts at night, detecting prey through highly sensitive sensory hairs on its legs before subduing it with its venomous sting.

Range

  • Endemic to southwestern Mexico, occurring mainly in the Pacific slope states of Guerrero and Oaxaca.

  • Found throughout suitable habitats in the Zihuatanejo region.

  • Its distribution is much more localized than that of many widespread Centruroides species.

Habitat

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

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

  • Can occasionally be found around buildings, wood piles, stone walls, and other structures.

  • Strictly nocturnal, emerging after dark to forage.

Size

  • Total length: 6–9 cm (2.4–3.5 in)

  • Weight: Approximately 8–20 g

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