162 NATURAL HISTORY. 



these appeal- to represent the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth ; each of them presents a pair of 

 stigmata leading into lung-sacs. The five segments following these, which form the wider part of the 

 body, consist of complete horny rings, or i-ather short tubes, articulated in such a manner as to give 

 the tail, which they form, considerable freedom of movement. The last joint of this tail, regarded as 

 the equivalent of the telson of the Crustacea, is a bulbous piece, swollen at its base, and narrowed and 

 curved into a hook at the free end ; the bulb contains a pair of glands which secrete a poisonous fluid, 

 which is conveyed by ducts to the minutely but doubly perforated point of the hook, and renders the 

 sting of the Scoi'pion so formidable an offensive weapon. 



In the Scorpions, as in most Arachnida, the representatives of the antennae, which spring from 

 beneath the front margin of the first dorsal piece, are a pair of organs affiliated to the mouth, but in 

 the present group, instead of forming two-jointed jaws, the chelicene are composed of three joints, the 

 last two of which form small pincers. A large labrum is followed by a very small mouth-aperture, on 

 each side of which ai*e the bases of the maxillae, which are true foot-jaws, having a distinct masticatory 

 surface, while their elongated palpi ai-e the large pincer-like organs which form so striking a chai-acter- 

 istic of the Scorpions. Of the four pairs of walking limbs which follow these chelate palpi two have 

 their basal joints forming part of the boundary of the mouth, a circumstance which has led some 

 anatomists to regard them as representing the maxillae and labium, and the large palpi as belonging to 

 the mandibles. The ambulatory limbs are provided with three claws. Behind the origin of these 

 limbs are traces of the sternal portions of the first and second free segments, the first bearing the 

 valves which cover the generative aperture, while the second supports a pair of very singular comb- 

 like appendages, the function of which does not seem to be very clearly made out. 



The alimentary canal, which starts from the minute aperture of the mouth, forms a simple 

 tube continued through the whole length of the body, and opening in the segment immediately 

 preceding the sting. 



The Scorpions are the largest and most formidable members of the class Arachnida, and they are 

 for the most part confined to the warmer regions of the earth. In Southern Europe, indeed, a few 

 species are found, and some of these are of moderate size, such as the Androctonus occitanus, which 

 occurs throughout the Mediterranean region, and measures upwards of three inches in length, but in 

 hot countries there are Scorpions of nearly double this statui-e. The genus (Androctonus) to which 

 the largest European Scorpion belongs, is chiefly represented in Africa, although its members also 

 occur in Western Asia, as well as in Europe. Its name, which signifies " Man-killer," indicates the 

 dread with which these creatures are regarded in Africa, where their sting is certainly productive of 

 very painful consequences, although whether it is ever fatal would seem to be still a matter of some 

 doubt. The European species, at any rate, do not appear to produce any very serious effects. 

 Androctonus occitanus is said to be the least formidable species of its genus ; and the other common 

 European Scorpion (Scorpio europceus) is not half the size of its companion. Both these species are 

 to be met with in the south of France, and the second extends its range northward into Germany. 



The Scorpions are light-shunning animals, concealing themselves during the day in the ground 

 under stones and in crevices in rocks and buildings. In the twilight they come forth in search of 

 their prey, which consists principally of large insects and their larvae, and spiders, and when thus 

 engaged they carry the long flexible tail elevated over the back of the body, so that the sting is about 

 as far forward as the cephalothoracic plate. The prey is seized by the pincers of the large palpi, and 

 then pierced by the sting and speedily killed. Scorpions generally live quite alone, and select dry 

 places for their abode. Brought together accidentally, they will usually fight, and if one is killed 

 the other will feed upon it ; the male also, being smaller than the female, is obliged to be very 

 cautious in his approaches to the object of his affections, lest he should be treated in the same 

 manner. The females are viviparous, that is to say, the eggs are hatched in the enlarged oviducts, 

 and the number of young produced may reach sixty. In their earliest days the young Scorpions are 

 carried about upon the back of their mother. 



FAMILY II. PHEYNID^. 



The Phrynidae constitute a small family of Arachnida nearly related to the Scorpions, from which 

 they nevertheless differ in some sufficiently striking particulars. The fore part of the body is also. 



