Indian red scorpion, Eastern indian scorpion
Hottentotta tamulus, the Indian red scorpion, also known as the eastern Indian scorpion, is a species of scorpion of the family Buthidae. It occurs in most of India, eastern Pakistan and the eastern lowlands of Nepal, and recently from Sri Lanka.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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starts withTotal body length is about 50 to 90 mm. Males with flexed proximal margins of pedipalp fingers. Manus of pedipalps is also wider than female. There are 30 to 39 pectinal teeth in males, and 27 to 34 in females. Chelicerae are yellow and reticulated. Pedipalps are densely hirsute, whereas legs and metasoma are sparsely hirsute. Patella of pedipalps covered with short setae. Mesosoma is darker than rest of the body. Ventral carinae on metasomal segments are black. Chela without carinae. Dorsum densely and very finely granulated. Dorsum bears two short, inconspicuous marginal carinae. Telson is granulated.
The walking legs and the tip of the pedipalp pincers are bright orange-yellow to light reddish-brown in color. The mesosomal tergites always bear three distinct carinae. Their habitus is typical of buthid scorpions, with rather small pedipalp pincers, moderately thickened metasomal segments and a rather bulbous telson with large stinger. The base of the pedipalp pincers (manus) is slightly more inflated in males than in females.
Despite its medical importance, little is known about the ecology and habitat preferences of this species. It is widespread across vegetated lowlands with subtropical to tropical, humid climate and often lives close to or in human settlements, especially in rural areas. A study from Saswad-Jejuri, Pune (western India) has found H. tamulus in a wide range of microhabitats, including scrubland and veld with stones, red and black soil in cropland, loamy, grassy and stony hillslopes and -tops, black soil in mango orchards, Eucalyptus plantations, and under tree bark. With an abundance of 48.43% it was by far the most abundant of the six scorpion species recorded in this study. It occurs rather seldom under tree bark, a habitat dominated by its sister species Hottentotta pachyurus (8.9% versus 91.1% abundance). As all other scorpions, H. tamulus is nocturnal, preying upon small invertebrates and even small vertebrates like lizards. Encounters with humans mainly occur during the night or early morning, when the scorpions accidentally crawl into beds or fall from ceilings.
This species is of great medical significance in densely populated areas of India and Nepal and occasionally causes human fatalities. Fatality rates of 8–40% have been reported in clinical studies; most victims are children.
Symptoms of envenomation by this species include:
The venom mainly affects the cardiovascular and pulmonary system, eventually leading to a pulmonary oedema, which may cause death. Scorpion antivenom has little effect in clinical treatment but application of prazosin reduces the mortality rate to less than 4%.As in other scorpions, the venom of H. tamulus consists of a complex mixture of proteins. Some major components have been isolated, including the toxin tamapin. Scorpion envenomation with high morbidity and mortality is usually due to either excessive autonomic activity and cardiovascular toxic effects or neuromuscular toxic effects. Antivenin is the specific treatment for scorpion envenomation combined with supportive measures including vasodilators in patients with cardiovascular toxic effects and benzodiazepines when there is neuromuscular involvement. Although rare, severe hypersensitivity reactions including anaphylaxis to scorpion antivenin (SAV) are possible.
