A new scorpion found in Arizona

New to nature No 137: Vaejovis brysoni

A new scorpion found in Arizona has an intriguing way of carrying its Young

 Vaejovis brysoni with its young aligned like roof tiles on its back.

Quentin Wheeler

Nine new species of scorpions have been discovered in Arizona in the past half-dozen years but many remain unknown to science, a reflection of the paucity of experts qualified to recognise them rather than any shortage of scorpions. Anatomically, the latest species, Vaejovis brysoni, is unremarkable, differing from related species in details. It is small, just a bit over an inch, brown in colour, and lives in oak forests in the Santa Catalina mountains just outside Tuscon at about 1,800m elevation. Like the more than 1,700 other kinds of scorpion, it is a predator and no serious threat to people. In spite of their Hollywood reputation, only a couple of dozen species are capable of killing a human and then often only the young or weak. Read more.