8 interesting scorpion facts that will blow your mind: Know about their characteristics, origin and more

Time of India

20-05-2025

are ancient creatures known for their sharp pincers and venomous stingers. With a lineage dating back over 400 million years, they're among the oldest land predators on Earth.t They are found on every continent except Antarctica, scorpions thrive in deserts, forests, grasslands, and even mountains.
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Despite their fearsome reputation, most species pose little danger to humans, and many play a vital role in controlling insect populations. They also carry some facts that you might not know till now! The features that make them fascinating isn't just their sting—but their ability to glow under ultraviolet light, their impressive survival skills, and their unique mating rituals. Whether feared or admired, scorpions are remarkable beings that blend ancient power with modern mystery.
Lesser known facts about scorpions
They bring forth living young directly
Unlike insects, which usually lay their eggs outside the body, scorpions give birth to live young—a reproductive method called
viviparity
. In some species, the developing young grow inside a membrane, receiving nourishment from both a yolk and their mother. Others skip the membrane stage, with the young directly absorbing nutrients from the mother. Depending on the species, the pregnancy can last anywhere from two months to a year and a half.
After birth, the tiny scorpions climb onto their mother's back, where they stay safe until they molt for the first time.
Once they've shed their outer layer, they leave to begin life on their own.
Known for their extended life expectancy
While most arthropods have short lifespans, often living only a few weeks or months, scorpions stand out for their longevity. For example, mayflies survive just a few days. In contrast, scorpions are among the longest-living arthropods.
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In their natural habitats, they usually live between two and ten years, but in captivity, some have been known to live up to 25 years.
Long evolutionary history
If you could journey back 300 million years, you'd find scorpions that closely resemble the ones we see today. Fossil records indicate that scorpions have changed very little since the Carboniferous period. Their earliest ancestors probably lived in the ocean and might have possessed gills.
By around 420 million years ago, during the Silurian period, some of them had begun to inhabit land. These early scorpions may also have had compound eyes.
Endure extremely harsh environments
Arthropods have inhabited land for over 400 million years, and scorpions—some of their most resilient members—can live up to 25 years. This longevity is no coincidence. Scorpions are incredibly tough creatures. They can survive an entire year without eating and endure being submerged in water for up to 48 hours, thanks to their book lungs, which they share with horseshoe crabs.
Although they often live in dry, harsh climates, they get all the moisture they need from their food.
With very low metabolic rates, they use only a fraction of the oxygen that most insects require. Scorpions are built for survival and seem nearly impossible to destroy.
Members of the arachnid family
Scorpions are arthropods classified within the arachnid group, which also includes spiders, harvestmen, ticks, mites, and various scorpion-like creatures that aren't true scorpions—such as whipscorpions, pseudoscorpions, and wind scorpions.
Like other arachnids, scorpions have two main body sections—the cephalothorax and the abdomen—as well as four pairs of legs. While scorpions share many physical traits with their arachnid relatives, evolutionary scientists believe they are most closely related to harvestmen (Opiliones).
Scorpions perform a courtship dance before mating
Scorpions engage in an elaborate courtship ritual known as the
promenade à deux
(literally, a walk for two). The dance begins when the male and female make contact.
The male takes his partner by her pedipalps and gracefully walks her back and forth until he finds a proper location for his spermatophore. Once he deposits his package of sperm, he leads the female over it and positions her genital opening so she can take up the sperm. In the wild, the male usually makes a quick departure once mating is completed.
In captivity, the female often devours her mate, having worked up an appetite from all the dancing.
They illuminate in darkness
The exact reason scorpions glow under ultraviolet light is still a topic of debate among scientists. Their cuticle, or outer skin, absorbs UV light and then emits it as visible light. This property greatly aids scorpion researchers, who can use black lights at night in scorpion habitats to make them glow. While only around 600 scorpion species were known a few decades ago, scientists have now identified nearly 2,000 species, thanks in part to the use of UV lights.
After a scorpion molts, its new cuticle is soft and lacks the compound responsible for fluorescence, so newly molted scorpions don't glow. Interestingly, scorpion fossils can still fluoresce, even after being trapped in rock for millions of years.
They can feed on almost anything
Scorpions are primarily active at night. Most scorpions hunt insects, spiders, and other arthropods, but some also feed on grubs and earthworms. Larger scorpions are capable of consuming bigger prey, including small rodents and lizards.
While many scorpions will eat whatever they can catch, others focus on specific types of prey, like certain beetle species or burrowing spiders. In times of scarcity, a hungry mother scorpion may even resort to eating her own young.
Scorpions possess venom
Indeed, scorpions do produce venom. Their intimidating tail consists of five segments of the abdomen, arched upward, with the final segment called the telson. The venom is produced within the telson, and at its tip is a sharp, needle-like structure known as the aculeus, which serves as the venom delivery system.
Scorpions have control over when to release venom and can adjust its potency depending on whether they need to subdue prey or protect themselves from threats.
Scorpions are not very dangerous to people
While scorpions can sting and it's certainly not a pleasant experience, they generally don't pose much of a threat to humans. Out of the nearly 2,000 scorpion species worldwide, only 25 have venom potent enough to seriously harm an adult. Young children are at higher risk due to their smaller size. In the U.S., the only scorpion of concern is the Arizona bark scorpion,
Centruroides sculpturatus
, whose venom can be fatal to a small child. Thankfully, antivenom is readily available in medical facilities across its habitat, making fatalities extremely rare.