The largest species of Scorpion in North America. This is an aggressive species and will sting if provoked apart from that they are a very popular species due to its large size and ease of care.
Occasionally available is the rarer subspecies Hadrurus arizonensis pallidus which is a color morph of Hadrurus arizonensis. which is pale to the point of almost appearing colourless.
Is hadrurus arizonensis poisonous?
Toxicity. Although this scorpion is big, its venom is not very potent, and its sting is commonly perceived to be about as painful as a honeybee’s sting. The venom has an LD 50 value of 168 mg/kg.
What do Hadrurus arizonensis eat?
This large scorpion is solitary and will eat large insects, spiders, small lizards and snakes, and even other scorpions, including the Arizona bark scorpion and other Arizona giant hairy scorpions!
Hadrurus arizonensis Habitat
Hadrurus arizonensis is distributed throughout the Sonoran and Mojave deserts. In Mexico, the species’ range flanks the Gulf of California in Sonora and Baja California Norte. In the United States, it is found in the western two thirds of Arizona, the Colorado Desert and Mojave Desert regions of southern California, southern Nevada, and extreme southwestern Utah. Arizona Desert hairy scorpions are a warm-desert species, specially adapted to hot and dry conditions. They are usually found in and around washes or low-elevation valleys where they dig elaborate burrows (up to 2.5 m or 8 ft 2 in) and emerge at night to forage for prey and mates. Other species commonly encountered living sympatrically with this species are: Smeringurus mesaensis, Hoffmannius confusus, and Hoffmannius spinigerus .
Hadrurus arizonensis: Haltung im Terrarium
15 cm. So groß wird Hadrurus arizonensis. Und ist damit der größte Skorpion im südwestlichen Nordamerika. Nicht von ungefähr ist er in Deutschland als Großer Texas-Skorpion bekannt. Ebenso sprechend ist sein anderer deutscher Name: Haariger Wüstenskorpion, den er den rötlichen Haaren auf seinem Körper verdankt. Wie die Namen alle bereits nahelegen, ist er unter anderem in Texas und Arizona, insbesondere in der Sonora Wüste zuhause. Sein Verbreitungsgebiet erstreckt sich bis nach Mexiko. Hier gräbt er sich in der Erde ein, je nach Wasserstand mal mehr oder weniger tief auf der Suche nach der optimalen Luftfeuchtigkeit. Im trockenen Sommer bis zu 2,5 Meter. Die gleichen Ansprüche an Pflege und Haltung stellt übrigens der Schwarzrücken-Texas-Skorpion mit nahezu gleichem Verbreitungsgebiet, der seinen Namen von dem dunkel gefärbten Rücken hat. Mit Ausnahme dieses Merkmals und der rötlichen Scherenfinger ist Hadrurus spadix im Aussehen Hadrurus arizonensis zum Verwechseln ähnlich.
Common names:
This scorpion is known as the Giant Hairy Scorpion in the US. Some use the name Giant Hairy Desert Scorpion. The latin name can be freely translated to “Tick-tail scorpion belonging to Arizona”.
Distribution:Mexico and USA (Arizona, Southern parts of California, Nevada and Utah).
Habitat:
This spcies is found in in semi-arid and arid habitats (also in desert-like habitats, but rarly on sand dunes). It usually hide in deep burrows, but can also be found under stones, logs etc. This species experiences “winter condition”, when the scorpions are hidden deep in their burrows.
Venom:This scorpion can inflict very a painful sting, but it is not consider medical significant for healthy humans. The LD 50 value for this species is 168 mg/kg. It will sting if disturbed. Some sources tell that some Hadrurus can spay venom up to 25 cm. It is my impression that this is rare. It is common though, that a drop of venom is visible on the stinger when the scorpion is very excited.
Selected litterature:
Hadley, N. F. (1968). Surface Activities of Some North American Scorpions in Relation to Feeding. Ecology 49(4), pp. 726-734.
Williams, S. C. (1969). Birth activities of some north american scorpions. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 37(1), pp. 1-24.
Hadley, N. F. (1970). Water Relations of the Desert Scorpion, Hadrurus Arizonensis. J. Exp. Biol. 53, pp. 547-558.
Bub, K. and R. Bowerman (1979). Prey capture by the scorpion Hadrurus arizonensis Ewing (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae). Journal of Arachnology 7, pp. 243-253.
General:
This is the largest scorpion found in North America. It can reach up to 14 cm in lengths. The back of the body has a brown-yellow color, while the pedipalps, legs, cauda and the front part of the prosoma are yellow. It has a lot of brown hairs on parts of its body. These hairs have sensory functions.
This species is common in pet collections. It is a hardy species which is easy to keep in captivity, but captive breeding have proven to be very difficult. As far as I know, successful breeding has yet to be reported. Molting has also turn out to be a problem in captivity. Some reccomend a “winter-period” for animals kept in captivity to ensure optimal survival.
