Arachnids & Myriapods Codexery

Deathstalker

A highly venomous scorpion found from North Africa to India.

Last updated

It is also called the Palestine yellow scorpion, Omdurman scorpion, and Naqab desert scorpion.[1] The scorpion species Leiurus quinquestriatus, commonly called the deathstalker, belongs to the Buthidae family.[1]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumArthropoda
  3. SubphylumChelicerata
  4. ClassArachnida
  5. OrderScorpiones
  6. FamilyButhidae
  7. GenusLeiurus
  8. SpeciesLeiurus quinquestriatus

Named by Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1829

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Deathstalker (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Where the deathstalker has been recorded

Where the deathstalker has been recorded5 mapped locations from 114 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (114 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 56 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)

Quick Facts

Genus
Leiurus
Species
quinquestriatus

Facts from the source article.

Biology and range

Neurotoxins in the venom include chlorotoxin, charybdotoxin, scyllatoxin, and agitoxins types one, two and three.[2] Any envenomation runs the risk of anaphylaxis.[3] This scorpion's body length ranges from 30 to 77 mm, averaging 58 mm, and its coloration is yellow.[4] Although a sting causes extreme pain, a healthy adult human typically survives it.[5]

Greater danger exists for young children, the elderly, and those with infirmities.[3] Pancreatitis occurs frequently after envenomation, according to research conducted in Israel.[3] When a sting is fatal, pulmonary edema is the typical cause.[3]

What the specialist sources record

The deathstalker is one of the most deadly scorpions in the world, according to a 2015 article by O'Brien.[6] In 2007, Olson, Ellenbogen, Gabikian and their team published an article detailing how they isolated chlorotoxin and attached a fluorescent molecule to produce a substance that would "light up" tumour cells.[6] During preclinical trials with mice and dogs between 2005 and 2011, tumour paint proved more than 5,000 times more sensitive than MRI.[6] The first clinical trial of tumour paint began on 25 May 2015 at Seattle children's hospital.[6]

Chlorotoxin, a peptide from the venom, may be useful in treating human brain tumors.[7] Even with antivenom, a sting requires emergency medical care because the venom resists treatment unusually well.[8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Deathstalker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Minton, "Venom diseases", Thomas, 1974, p. 235; The Staff of Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, "Entomology abstracts, Volume 24, Issues 10-12", Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, 1993; Werness, "The Continuum encyclopedia of animal symbolism in art", Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004, p. 476; Young, "The Guinness Book of World Records 1998", Bantam Books, 1998, p. 768 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Deathstalker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Voltage-gated ion channels and gating modifier toxins", Toxicon, February 2007, p. 124–41; "International Union of Pharmacology. LIV. Nomenclature and molecular relationships of inwardly rectifying potassium channels", Pharmacological Reviews, December 2005, p. 509–26 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Deathstalker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Acute pancreatitis in children following envenomation by the yellow scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus", Toxicon, 1991, p. 125–8 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Deathstalker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Amr, "Systematics and distribution of scorpions (Arachnida, Scorpionida) in Jordan", Italian Journal of Zoology, 1994, p. 185–190 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Deathstalker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The World’s Most Dangerous Scorpions" Planet Deadly.; "Not so scary scorpions" National Science Foundation.; Lucian K. Ross, "Leiurus quinquestriatus (Ehrenberg, 1828)", The Scorpion Files, 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. O'Brien, "How to light up a tumour - Alex O'Brien", 10 September 2015. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  7. Wikipedia, "Deathstalker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Use of chlorotoxin for targeting of primary brain tumors", Cancer Research, 1998, p. 4871–4879 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Deathstalker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Scorpion Antivenom Twyford (North Africa)", MAVIN, January 15, 2010; "Scorpifav", MAVIN, January 15, 2010; "Saudi National Antivenom and Vaccine Production Center"; Goldfrank, "Goldfrank's toxicologic emergencies", McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006, p. 2064 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Deathstalker (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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