Species Centruroides sculpturatus - Arizona Bark Scorpion

Originally Centruroides sculpturatus Ewing, 1928. Synonymized under C. exilicauda (Wood, 1863) by Williams (1980). But the distribution of the species is disjunct: C. exilicauda is endemic to the Baja California Peninsula, and in the north it is limited to the western side of the peninsula to near Ensenada; C. sculpturatus does not occur in BC, but is found in Sonora, Mexico, and the southwestern US in Arizona and the borderlands of adjacent states. Returned to C. sculpturatus by Valdez-Cruz et al. (2004) based largely on chemical makeup of venom, potency of venom, and DNA.

"sculpturatus" describes the sculptured appearance of the tergites (dorsal plates). "exilicauda" is for the elongation of the male metasoma (tail).

Adult males can reach 80 mm, females to 65-70 mm.

All counties of Arizona, into western New Mexico, southern Utah, southern Nevada to Las Vegas vicinity, and in California only along Colorado River where it is not common. Also in much of Sonora, Mexico.

No real preference. Does not burrow.