Family Vaejovidae. Vaejovis coahuilae Williams, 1968. Type locality: Cuatro Cienegas, Coahuila, Mexico.
This scorpion superficially looks similar to the much larger V. spinigerus, with which it is often confused. But closer examination with the two will show that V. coahuilae has its carapace entirely "mottled", whereas V. spinigerus has pigment only on the posterior portions of the carapace.
Vaejovis coahuilae is found in western Texas, from Del Rio to San Angelo and Sweetwater, to the Amarillo area and west of that line, into much of New Mexico, and only in the extreme SE corner of Arizona to the east of the Chiricahua Mountains, where it is found with V. spinigerus. It also occurs in northern Mexico in the Chihuahuan Desert.
It is fairly common from deserts to elevations of about 6,000 ft. and can be found under rocks and surface objects, but prefers to burrow in loose soils. The sting is painful for its size (adults reach 35-50 mm), but not harmful.