Saturday, March 29, 2008

Scorpions

Scorpions are eight-legged arthropods. A member of the Arachnida class and belonging to the order Scorpiones, there are about 2000 type of scorpions. They are found broadly distributed south of 49° N, except New Zealand and Antarctica. The northern-most part of the world where scorpions live in the wild is thinness on the Isle of Sheppey in the UK, where a small colony of Euscorpius flavicaudis has been occupant since the 1860s.

The cuticle makes a tough shell around the body. In some places it is covered with hairs that act like equilibrium organs. An outer layer that makes them luminous green under ultraviolet light is called the hyaline layer. Newly molted scorpions do not glow awaiting after their cuticle has toughened. The luminous hyaline layer can be integral in fossil rocks that are hundreds of millions of years old.

The confidence that scorpions commit suicide by harsh themselves to death when surrounded by fire is of considerable relic and is often prevalent where these animals exist. It is nevertheless untrue since the venom has no effect on the scorpion itself, nor on any member of the same species. The misapprehension may obtain from the fact that scorpions are poikilotherms (cold-blooded): when showing to passionate heat their metabolic processes break down. This causes the scorpion to spasm wildly and this spasming may appear as if the scorpion is hurtful itself. It is also untrue that alcohol will cause scorpions to sting themselves to death.


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