The Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion (Hadrurus arizonensis) is a large North American arachnid featured in the Standard Edition of Planet Zoo.
Zoopedia Informaton[]
General[]
Population in the Wild: Unknown
A large species of arachnid native to the deserts of the Southern USA and Mexico, the giant desert hairy scorpion (or Hadrurus arizonensis) is a predator specializing in ambush. Typically yellow, tan or pale green and with darker areas of color on its back, the scorpion spends its time buried beneath the sand or under rocks, attacking insects and small vertebrates with its stinger. This immobilizes its prey before the scorpion can then grab it with its jaws. Once fully grown, the scorpion can be between 10 and 18 cm in length and, despite the pain caused, the sting is not usually dangerous to humans.
Social[]
Giant desert hairy scorpions are solitary animals and are likely to kill rival scorpions if encountered.
Reproduction[]
When a male and female scorpion come across one another, the first test is whether they are both receptive. If so, the male will grab the female from the side and administer up to 10 'sexual stings' to subdue her. Then, he uses his pedipalps (mouth parts) to grab hers and pulls her back and forth across the ground, trying to find an area of substrate that is suitable to complete the mating procedure. Once one is located, he will deposit the sperm from his abdomen on the ground, pulling the acquiescent female onto the sperm.
At this point, she will take the sperm up via a pore on her abdomen to fertilize the eggs. The young will be incubated for 6 to 12 months, at which point the mother will give birth to between 25 and 35 live young. These climb onto her back and will be carried around until they are 3-weeks-old. At this point, they have molted and are tough enough to be independent. It will be at 4-years-old that these young scorpions reach sexual maturity themselves.
Animal Care[]
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Trivia[]
Zoopedia Fun Facts[]
- The giant desert hairy scorpion is the largest species of scorpion in North America.
- The hairs covering its body help detect prey moving on the sand while buried.
- If the male scorpion does not get away quickly after mating, the female scorpion will catch and eat him.
- The giant desert hairy scorpion gives birth to live young.
- Because of its large size, this species of scorpion is able to, and often will, eat smaller scorpions.