- Source: Leiurus
Leiurus is a genus of scorpion of the family Buthidae. The most common species, L. quinquestriatus, is also known under the common name Deathstalker. It is distributed widely across North Africa and the Middle East, including the western and southern Arabian Peninsula and southeastern Turkey. At least one species occurs in West Africa (northern Cameroon).
Taxonomy
The genus was introduced in 1828 by C.G. Ehrenberg (in Hemprich & Ehrenberg 1828), originally as a subgenus of the genus Androctonus. It was finally elevated to genus rank by M. Vachon in 1949.
The genus was long considered to be monotypic, containing a single species, L. quinquestriatus, but research since 2002 has shown that there are indeed several species.
= Diversity
=Currently twenty species are recognized within this genus.
Leiurus abdullahbayrami Yagmur, Koc & Kunt, 2009
Leiurus aegyptiacus Lourenço & El-Hennawy, 2021
Leiurus arabicus Lowe, Yagmur & Kovarik, 2014
Leiurus ater Lourenço, 2019
Leiurus brachycentrus Ehrenberg, 1829
Leiurus dekeyseri Lourenço, 2020
Leiurus gubanensis Kovarik & Lowe, 2020
Leiurus haenggii Lowe, Yagmur & Kovarik, 2014
Leiurus heberti Lowe, Yagmur & Kovarik, 2014
Leiurus hebraeus Lowe, Yagmur & Kovaric, 2014
Leiurus hoggarensis Lourenço, Kourim & Sadine, 2018
Leiurus kuwaiti Lourenço, 2020
Leiurus jordanensis Lourenço, Modry & Amr, 2002
Leiurus macroctenus Lowe, Yagmur & Kovarik, 2014
Leiurus maculatus Lourenço, 2022
Leiurus nigerianus Lourenço, 2021
Leiurus quinquestriatus (Ehrenberg, 1828) (type species)
Leiurus saharicus Lourenço, 2020
Leiurus savanicola Lourenço, Qi & Cloudsley-Thompson, 2006
Leiurus somalicus Lourenço, & Rossi, 2016
Leiurus hadb Al-Qahtni, Al-Salem, Alqahtani & Badry, 2023
General characteristics
Members of Leiurus are generally moderately sized scorpions that show a typical buthid habitus with gracile pedipalp chelae and a slender metasoma. The vesicle is bulbous and proportionally large in some species. The cephalothorax and mesosoma shows distinct granulation. Characteristically the tergites of the mesosoma bear five distinct, longitudinal carinae (ridges). The base color is generally yellow with brown to blackish areas extending over various parts of the animal, depending on species.
= Toxicity
=The venom of L. quinquestriatus is among the most potent scorpion toxins. It severely affects the cardiac and pulmonary systems. Human fatalities, often children, have been confirmed by clinical reports. The median lethal dose of venom (LD50) for this species was measured at 0.16 - 0.50 mg/kgmice.
The toxicity of the other species is also potentially high to life-threatening, but reliable data are currently not available.
Habitat
Most species live in semi-arid to arid regions, including the Sahara and Arabian deserts. At least one species occurs in savannah environment. Sparsely vegetated and sandy or rocky substrates are preferred. The scorpions live in shallow burrows in sand or beneath rocks.
In captivity
Members of the genus Leiurus are often bred in captivity and traded. Due to their extreme toxicity, keeping these species is strictly recommended to only very experienced and/or professionally trained people.
References
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Leiurus quinquestriatus
- Kalajengking
- Kamen Rider Decade
- Venomik
- Leiurus
- Deathstalker
- Leiurus abdullahbayrami
- Leiurus hebraeus
- Abalistes stellatus
- Abalistes
- Chlorotoxin
- Serket
- Pao leiurus
- Charybdotoxin