289 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. VIIT. 
scarcely raised from the ground during progression, and the tail, which is 
very slender and relatively much lighter than in Prionurus or Parabuthus 
is dragged along, extended, and with aslight curl only at its hinder end. 
This difference in the carriage of the tail depends possibly upon the differ- 
ence in its size and weight. For it seems reasonable to suppose that the 
heavy, robust tail of a Pwrabuthus or Prionurus is carried with less muscular 
effort when curled over the back than when stretched out behind as is 
Euscorpius. 
When attempting to climb up the smooth sides of their box the Parabuthus 
would raise themselves upon the extremity of the fifth segment of the tail, and 
by keeping this organ perfectly rigid and in the same straight line as the body 
they could maintain themselves ina nearly vertical position, thus reaching 
considerably higher than if supported upon the hind legs alone. 
The method of digging shallow pits or holes in sand, which Mons, Becker 
and Prof. Lankester have described in the case of Prionurus, is also practised 
by Parabuthus. Standing upon the first and fourth pairs of legs, and using 
the tips of the chele and the end of the tail as additional props, with the 
disengaged legs, a scorpion rapidly kicks the sand backwards between the 
legs of the Jast pair, very muchasa rabbit or rat does when burrowing. 
Then with the apparent intention of removing what would prove an obstacle 
to its vision when crouching in the hole, it sweeps aside with its tail the heap 
of sand that has been thrown up, until the area surrounding its lurking place 
is tolerably level. 
I never saw a Euscorpius digging in the sand. They were usually to be 
found during the daytime under pieces of wood, to which they were nearly 
always clinging belly uppermost. It is difficult to explain why this attitude 
should be assumed. Many terricolous arthropods, however, have the same 
habit, and I see no reason for thinking that in the case of Huscorpius it has 
any connection with the copulation of these animals as Prof, Lankester 
suggests. 
All scorpions appear to be carnivorous, and there seems to be little doubt 
that they live principally upon insects or other articulated animals. My 
specimens of Euscorpius would eat blue-bottles and small flies, small cock- 
roaches (E. germanicus), wood-lice, small spiders, and centipedes (Lithobius 
and Geophilus). The Parabuthus were fed principally upon the common 
house-cockroach and upon blue-bottles. Itis interesting to note in connec- 
tion with this last fact that Prof. Lankester’s examples of Prionurus would 
not eat this common cockroach, nor did they seem to care for blue-bottle 
flies. This difference of instinct in the choice of food is remarkable, seeing 
how similar these two scorpions are in other particulars, both of habit and 
structure. 
No one acquainted with the agility of a cockroach and the usual sluggish- 
ness of a scorpion would think that the latter would often succeed in cap- 
