Asian Forest Scorpion
Heterometrus spinifer
A nocturnal hunter with an upraised stinger and stout pincers
The Asian forest scorpion is a large black scorpion, glossy and stout-clawed, with a venomous stinger at the tip of its tail. It prefers the moist forest floor, hiding under stones and logs by day and hunting at night.
Key figures
- Length
- About 10–12 cm
- Venom
- The stinger carries neurotoxic venom, usually not fatal to humans
- Life cycle
- Gives birth to live young that ride on the mother's back for weeks
- Habitat
- Humid tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia
- Diet
- Insects, spiders and other small arthropods
- Feature
- Glows blue-green under ultraviolet light
Life cycle
Scorpling → Nymph → Adult
Ecological role
It preys on small arthropods and is itself eaten by bats and birds, forming one link in the forest food web.
Did you know
Scorpions glow blue-green under ultraviolet light — a mystery that remains not fully explained.
Range
Southeast Asia
Status
Common; often kept as a pet
Anatomy
- Stinger — The venomous stinger at the tail tip, used to paralyse or kill prey
- Pincers — A pair of stout pincers used to grasp and hold prey
- Body — The flattened body of fused segments, covered by a hard exoskeleton
- Eyes — Groups of simple eyes on the carapace; weak vision, relying on touch and vibration
- Legs — Four pairs of walking legs for moving quickly through crevices
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