Scorpions of the Desert Southwest United States

Abstract

Scorpions are predatory arachnids related to spiders, mites, and ticks. They are some of the oldest known terrestrial arthropods (animals with an external skeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed limbs). Scorpions have an elongated body and a segmented tail that ends in a stinger that can deliver a venomous sting. They have four pairs of legs and pedipalps with plier-like pincers on the end, used for grasping. There are close to 2,000 described species of scorpions worldwide, at least 100 in the U.S., and more than 50 species in the desert southwestern states. Scorpions have long been of concern and interest to humans primarily due to their ability to give painful, and sometimes life threatening stings, but also because they are important and beneficial components of many ecosystems.