Euscorpius alpha does not have a common name, but is a type of scorpion. They are in the kingdom Animalia, in the phylum arthropoda, the class Arachnida, the order scorpiones, the family euscorpiidae, in the genus Euscorpius, and in the species alpha. Scorpions come in many different sizes the biggest live in Africa and can be up to 18cm long and the smallest can be 3cm long. Most scorpions tend to be black. Scorpions live in all parts of the world except Antarctica, and mostly live in the United Kingdom. They have a wide range of living areas; they live in desserts, mountains, savannahs, forests, and caves. They can live in heats from 57 degrees Fahrenheit to 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Scorpions usually eat insects, when their catching their prey they either crush it or inject with venom. They with either kill it or paralyze it so they can eat it but they can only eat their food in liquid form. Scorpions have a lot of predators such as birds, centipedes, lizards, mice, possums, and rats. What allows them to compete for food is that they hunt at night.

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To avoid being eaten by their predators is also that they come out at night. Some interesting facts about scorpions are that when they are surrounded by fire they commit suicide and sting themselves. Scorpions have two eyes on the top of their head and 2-5 on the sides. Lastly when scorpions mate it looks like there dancing because they grab pinchers and move back and forth.

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Author: Mallory A

Published: 02/2008

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Sources:

Found at http://www.ub.ntnu.no/scorpion-files/e_alpha.php Found at http://www.desertusa.com/oct96/du_scorpion.html Found at http://www.ub.ntnu.no/scorpion-files/e_alpha.php Creepy Crawlies written by John Stidworthy Found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpion http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/ arachnids/scorpion/

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Photo Credit: Jan Ove Rein http://www.futura-sciences.com/fr/comprendre/dossiers/doc/t/medecine-1/d/attention- aux-piqures-et-morsures_400/c3/221/p2/