SCORPIONIDEA 



207 



kill not merely children, but even adults. According to Cararoz, 

 as many as 200 persons die annually from scorpion-sting in the 

 neighbourhood of Durango in Mexico. In Africa scorpion-stings 

 are of frequent occurrence, but death is rare. 



Historical/ — ^Maupertuis in 1731 and Redi in 1779 appear to have 

 been the first to study the effects of scorpion- venom by experiments, 

 though the ancients were well acquainted with the sting and its 

 effects, and had woven wonderful legends as to the origin of these 

 animals. Redi experimented upon a pigeon and a dog, but the real 

 study of the venom began with Guyon 1864, Paul Bert 1865, 

 Delange 1866, and Valentin in 1876, a,nd was followed up by 

 Joyeaux-Lafhne in 1883 and many others. A full literature is 

 given in Faust's ' Die Tierischen Gifte.' 



Classifieation,— This is unsettled, but Pocock gives the fol- 

 lowing : — 



I. Pentagonal cephalothoracic sternum — 



{a) Single pedal spur. (Pandinoidae Thorell, 1876.) 

 (6) Two pedal spurs. (Vejovidse Thorell, 1876.) 



IL Triangular cephalothoracic sternum — • 



With two pedal spurs, of which the anterior is bifur- 

 cated. (Buthidse Simon, 1879.) 



in. Short, wide, antero-posteriorly compressed cephalothoracic 

 sternum — 



Two pedal spurs. (Bothriuridae Simon, 1880.) 



Geographical. — Scorpions occur a 1 over the world, but the largest 

 and most dreaded are found in the tropics. They live under stones, 

 under the bark of trees, in sand, and also in houses, which they 

 leave at dusk. Some of the best known are: — 



1. Euscorpius carpathicus Linnaeus, Vejovidse (3 to 3-5 centi- 

 metres long) : Italy, Tyrol, South France. 



2. Buthus occitanus Amoreux, Buthidae (8-5 centimetres long): 

 Italy, Greece, Spain, North Africa. 



3. Buthus afer Linnaeus, 1764(16 centimetres long): Africa, Asia. 



4. Buthus quinquestriatus Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1828: Upper 

 Egypt and the Sudan. 



5. Scorpio wa^fws Linnaeus, 1758: Egypt, Tunis. 



6 Prionurus citrinus Hye, 1828 : Desert near Cairo and Alexandria. 



7. Prionurus amoiireuxi Savigny: Sudan. 



8. Androctonus funestus Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1828 (9 centi- 

 metres long) : North and Middle Africa. 



9. Heterontetrus in.ius Geer, 1778: Ceylon. 



Anatomical.— The body of the scorpion is divided into a cephalo- 

 thorax or prosoma, behind which comes an abdomen subdivisible 

 into a broader portion, or mesosoma, and a narrower, metasoma, 

 with five segnients, which is popularly called the tail. At the 

 end oi this metasoma there is a postanal curved spine, called the 

 telson, inside which lies the paired poison gland. The appendages 



