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Photo#314305
Scorpion - Centruroides sculpturatus

Scorpion - Centruroides sculpturatus
Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada, USA
August 4, 2008
I apologize for showing a dead scorpion, but it was early in the morning and my mom saw this crawling on the wall in our kitchen. She sprayed it with some sort of strong bug spray. Anyway, this was actually the second one we've found here. I'm pretty sure the first one is the same kind as this. And there's this third one, I was playing guitar and suddenly I found one that fell on my foot. Less than half the size shown on this photo (probably a young one).

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Centruroides sculpturatus
Hi Conrad. Good thing the one that fell on your foot didn't sting you! (If it were this species.) There are several species found in and around Las Vegas, but to ID this is actually quite simple when compared to the others:
The tail segments are pretty much of equal length, and long and slender, with long, slender hands and fingers. The tail, when at rest, is usually COILED as opposed to being arched. The ridges on the top of the tail segments do not have enlarged granules. Just take a look at species in the other families, then compared features with Centruroides (family Buthidae) and you'll begin to see the differences.

The sting of this one can be nasty, especially to young children and the elderly in poor health or certain allergies. If stung and you have what you think is a severe reaction, see a doctor.

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