Scorpions, unknown of bad reputation

2001/01/23 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Zoologia

Alongside spiders, scorpions are condemned animals. They are believed to be ugly and dangerous, as they have a painful needle and in some conditions can cause death.

But what else do you know about these animals? Did you know that among the first arthropods who triumphed in the waterfall to land were scorpions? Well yes. Before the dinosaurs surfaced the ancestors of scorpions, animals that could have a length of three meters.

Scorpions belong to the class of arachnids and have been described between 1,500 and 2,000 species. Most live in tropical and subtropical regions, and although we identify them with arid places, they also inhabit forests and humid caves. They have no spectacular customs. They can spend hours hidden under tree trunks, barks and rocks, most of them nocturnal. It is estimated that between 2 and 97% of his life is spent in dens.

Scorpions are the oldest arthropods on the planet and may be the first to conquer the earth, as they are believed to be descendants of marine scorpions that existed 400 million years ago.

They are predatory animals that feed mainly on small insects, although sometimes they practice cannibalism. According to some innovative theories, the secret of their survival lies in the slow metabolism of scorpions. They say they burn very slowly and need less energy than other animals to survive.