Hottentotta tamulus, the Indian red scorpion ( Tamil : செந்தேள் ) (also known as eastern Indian scorpion), is a species of scorpion, belonging to the family Buthidae. It occurs in most of India,[2] eastern Pakistan[1] and the eastern lowlands of Nepal.,[3] and recently from Sri Lanka. H. tamulus specimen range in size from 50–90 mm. The coloration ranges from dark orange or brightly red-brown through dull brown with darker grey carinae (ridges) and granulation. Grey spots might be distributed irregularly across the cephalothorax and the mesosoma. The walking legs and the tip of the pedipalp pincers are brighter colored (orange-yellow to light reddish-brown). 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. *Habitat and ecology Despite its medical importance, little is known about the ecology and habitat preferences of this species.[8] 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[13] 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.[14] Encounters with humans mainly occur during the night or early morning, when the scorpions accidentally crawl into beds or fall from ceilings Photo Location: Nanded,Maharashtra.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 10:30:15 +0000