Species Uroctonus mordax - California Forest Scorpion

Classification · Identification · Print References

Female Scorpion - Uroctonus mordax - female

Columbia Gorge Scorpion - Uroctonus mordax

Adult scorpion, Fairfax California (20 miles north of San Francisco) - Uroctonus mordax

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)

Class Arachnida (Arachnids)

Order Scorpiones (Scorpions)

Family Vaejovidae

Genus Uroctonus (Forest Scorpions)

Species mordax (California Forest Scorpion)

Identification

Fifth metasomal segment has a ventral median carina which forks to form a "Y" (see photos below). This character, according to Kari McWest (see comments here:1 ), is the "definitive character for U. mordax mordax and U. m. pluridens (which are probably the same)".

Print References

Gertsch, Willis J., and Michael Soleglad. 1972. Studies of North American Scorpions of the Genera Uroctonus and Vejovis (Scorpionida, Vejovidae). Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. Vol. 148 (4) pp.547-608.(PDF format)

Hjelle, J.T. 1972. Scorpions of the northern California coast ranges. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 92 : 1–59. (can be ordered from CAS; download catalog of Occasional papers)

Contributed by Kari J McWest on 1 June, 2007 - 12:26am
Additional contributions by Hartmut Wisch, kschnei
Last updated 3 October, 2009 - 4:00pm

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