Parabuthus villosus, the black hairy thick-tailed scorpion, is a species of scorpion from southern Africa, where it ranges from the Northern Cape to Namibia. It is the largest species of the Buthidae, measuring up to 18 cm,[1] and its diet may include lizards and mice.[2] The species is often active at dawn and dusk, but takes refuge by day in a variety of shelters.[1] It resembles Parabuthus transvaalicus, which is more strictly nocturnal, less hairy and with a more easterly distribution.[3]
Parabuthus villosus | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Scorpiones |
Family: | Buthidae |
Genus: | Parabuthus |
Species: | P. villosus
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Binomial name | |
Parabuthus villosus (Peters, 1862)
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References
edit- ^ a b Jonathan Leeming (2003). "Southern African species". Scorpions of Southern Africa. Struik. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-86872-804-6.
- ^ Norman Larsen, Hamish Robertson. "Parabuthus villosus (Black hairy thick-tailed scorpion)". biodiversityexplorer. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ^ Vincent Carruthers (2005). "Spiders and other arachnids". The Wildlife of Southern Africa: A Field Guide to the Animals and Plants of the Region. Struik. pp. 14–27. ISBN 978-1-86872-451-2.