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Fattail scorpion
Genus of scorpions From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 in the world.[1] The genus was first described in 1828 by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg.[2]
They are found throughout the semi-arid and arid regions of the Middle East and Africa.[1] They are moderate sized scorpions, attaining lengths of 10 cm (just under 4 in).[3] Their common name is derived from their distinctly fat metasoma, or tail, while the Latin name originates from Greek and means "man killer".[4] Their venom contains powerful neurotoxins and is especially potent.[1] Stings from Androctonus species are known to cause several human deaths each year.[1] Several pharmaceutical companies manufacture an antivenom for treatment of Androctonus envenomations.[5]
The fat-tailed scorpion is nocturnal and enjoys making nests where they hide in crevices during the day to stay moisturized. [6] One of the main threats that the scorpions face is habitat loss. [7]
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Geographic range
Androctonus is widespread in North and West Africa, the Middle East and eastwards to the Hindukush region. Countries where Androctonus occur include (from East to West): Senegal, Mauritania, Western Sahara, (Mali?), Burkina Faso, Togo, Morocco, Algeria, Niger, Cameroon, Tunisia, Libiya, 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.
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Taxonomy
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The following checklist corresponds to The Scorpion Files (As of August 2025[update]),[8] counties and geographic ranges are adapted from Ythier 2021.[9] and Ythier & Lourenço, 2022.[10]
Genus Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828:
- Androctonus aeneas C.L. Koch, 1839 – Algeria, Tunisia
- Androctonus afghanus Lourenço & Qi, 2006 – Afghanistan
- Androctonus agrab Ythier & Lourenço, 2022 – Western Sahara
- Androctonus ajjer Ythier, Sadine, Alioua & Lourenço, 2025 – Algeria
- Androctonus aleksandrplotkini Lourenço & Qi, 2007 – Mauritania
- Androctonus amoreuxi (Audouin, 1826) – Western Sahara to Egypt (possibly Israel).
- Androctonus australis (Linnaeus, 1758) – Morocco to Egypt
- Androctonus baluchicus (Pocock, 1900) – Afghanistan, Pakistan
- Androctonus barbouri (Werner, 1932) – Morocco
- Androctonus bartolozzii Rossi & Merendino, 2016 – Pakistan
- Androctonus bicolor Ehrenberg, 1828 – Libya to Syria (Jordan?, Lebanon?)
- Androctonus bourdoni Vachon, 1948 – Morocco
- Androctonus burkinensis Ythier, 2021 – Burkina Faso
- Androctonus cacahuati Lourenço, 2023 – Cameroon
- Androctonus cholistanus Kovarik & Ahmed, 2013 – Pakistan, India
- Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) – Iran (but a broader Middle eastern range in many publications, e.g. Ythier, 2021[9])
- Androctonus dekeyseri Lourenço, 2005 – Mauritania, Senegal
- Androctonus donairei Rossi, 2015 – Morocco
- Androctonus eburneus (Pallary, 1928) – Algeria
- Androctonus finitimus (Pocock, 1897) – Pakistan
- Androctonus gonneti Vachon, 1948 – Mauritania, Western Sahara, Morocco
- Androctonus hoggarensis (Pallary, 1929) – Algeria
- Androctonus ishtar Yağmur, Kachel, Al-Khazali, Al-Jubouri & Ali 2025 – Irak
- Androctonus kunti Yağmur, 2023 – Turkey (Armenia?), (Iran?)
- Androctonus liouvillei (Pallary, 1924) – Algeria, Morocco
- Androctonus maelfaiti Lourenço, 2005 – India
- Androctonus maroccanus Lourenço, Ythier & Leguin, 2009 – Morocco
- Androctonus mauritanicus (Pocock, 1902) – Morocco
- Androctonus pallidus Lourenço, Duhem & Cloudsley-Thompson, 2012 – Chad
- Androctonus robustus Kovarik & Ahmed, 2013 – Pakistan
- Androctonus rostami Barahoei, Mirshamsi, Amiri, Moeinadin & Rakhshani, 2025 – Iran
- Androctonus santi Lourenço, 2015 – Niger
- Androctonus sergenti Vachon, 1948 – Morocco
- Androctonus simonettai Rossi, 2015 – Ethiopia
- Androctonus sistanus Barahoei & Mirshamsi, 2022 – Iran
- Androctonus sumericus Al-Khazali & Yağmur, 2023 – Iraq
- Androctonus tenuissimus Teruel, Kovarik & Turiel, 2013 – Egypt
- Androctonus tibesti Lourenço & El-Hennawy, 2022 – Libya
- Androctonus tigrai Lourenço, Rossi & Sadine 2015 – Ethiopia
- Androctonus tihamicus Alqahtani, Yağmur & Badry 2023 – Saudi Arabia
- Androctonus togolensis Lourenço, 2008 – Togo
- Androctonus tropeai Rossi, 2015 – Pakistan
- Androctonus turkiyensis Yağmur, 2021 – Turkey
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Etymology
An English translation of the name Androctonus is "man-killer", from the Ancient Greek anḗr, andrós (ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός), meaning "man" and kteínein (κτείνειν), 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,[where?] 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.[11] Fat-tail scorpions kill their prey by first crushing them with their pincers and then injecting them with venom from their stingers.[12] Once the prey has been stung, it causes paralysis and allows the scorpion to consume it with ease.[13] Interestingly, the fat-tail scorpion can only ingest liquids.[14] To simulate the desert environment, the enclosure used to keep the scorpion in must be kept at a temperature of between 26 and 30 degrees Celsius (79–86 °F)[citation needed].
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References
External links
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