22 replies to this topic

[The Nothing]

Aculeus - the actual hypodermic needle-like singer on the Telson.
Arborial - living on trees and other large plants.  Centruroides species tend to be arborial.

Book lung - a simple type of lung found in spiders and scorpions.  Easily seen on the underside of both

Carapace- hardened plate the covers the prosoma dorsally (the head)
Cephalothorax (or Prosoma) otherwise known as the head, this are where the eyes are located.
Chela- The claw of a scorpion.  Including the Tibia and Tarsus.
Chelicera (pl., chelicerae) the little claw-like mouthparts of a scorpion.


Diurnal - active during the daylight hours.

Ecdysis - the process of molting, or shedding the exoskeleton.
Exoskeleton - the skelton or supporting structure on the outside of an arthropod's body.
Exuviae - the cast (shed) exoskeleton of an arthropod.

Forceps - a tool for picking up small insect or arachnid specimens; tweezers.

Gravid - pregnant

Instar - the stage of an insect between successive molts; for example, the first instar is the stage between birthing and the first molt.

Lateral Eyes- usually paired, scorpions have 0-5 total Lateral Eyes found on the front edge of the carapace.

Medial Eyes- the pair of eyes found on the dorsal (top) of the carapace.
Mesosoma - the body. Part of the Abdomen, has seven separate segments.
Metasoma - the tail. Part of the Abdomen, has five connected segments.

Nocturnal - active at night.

Obligate Burrower - These scorpions are compelled to burrow. Hadrurus and Opistopthalmus speecies are examples of Obligate Burrowers.
Opportunistic Burrower - These scorpions will often take over burrows left by other animals, or in small hides under rocks, tree roots, etc. Most Parabuthids are Opportunistic Burrowers.

Parthenogenesis - the ability to produce fertile eggs without male involvement.
Pectine - a "V"-shaped comb-like appendage on the abdomen of a scorpion that has sensory functions.
Pinheads - Very small crickets. Perfect for feeding small 2nd instar scorpions

Seta (pl., setae)  an external bristle, or stout hair.
Stridulate - to make sound by rubbing two body parts together.
Substrate - ground material (sand, soil, etc).

Tarsus- Movable "finger" of the chela.  Also the 7th segment of each leg.
Telson - the final segment of the metasoma.  contains the venom glands and Aculeus.
Tibia- The Fixed finger of the chela, sometimes refered to as the manus.  Also the 5th leg segment.

Vesicle- Bulbous part of telson which houses venom glands.

[The Nothing]

feel free to post more, I'll edit and add them to the main list

[The Nothing]

modified
i left out the Manus as it is properly refered to as the Tibia

[The Nothing]

it is according to Gary Polis

[Michiel]

supernumerary granules
internal/ external granules
median keels
ventral, distal, basal, dorsal, lateral
spiracles
nerve ganglia
fulcra
and so on, and so on....

all those things you need to read twice before you can understand it....

[skinheaddave]

The Nothing, on Jul 19 2005, 04:08 PM, said:

i left out the Manus as it is properly refered to as the Tibia

Actually, the manus is mentioned in Polis, along with its appropriate definition (page 12 for those following along at home).  The manus refers to only the area proximal to the fixed finger -- the "hand" of the chela, as it were.  It is a term rather extensively used in the literature and probably deserves a position in the glossary.

Incidentally, Arborial is spelled Arboreal.

Cheers,
Dave

Edited by skinheaddave, 16 August 2006 - 03:53 PM.

[skinheaddave]

El SD Fan, on Sep 25 2006, 02:49 AM, said:

from my understanding, they keep the eggs and incubate them inside them. the eggs hatch inside them and then they give live birth.

Sort of.  There are actually two types of development -- apoikogenic, in which the embryo develops inside a casing that is seperate from the mother and katoikogenic in which the embryo lacks a casing and has a special structure with which it is connected to the mother.  That being said, both forms derive nourishment from the mother, though apoikogenic scorpions do also have some yolk in their casing.   Polis and Sissom (1990 in The Biology of Scorpions) indicate that both forms should be considered viviparous.  This is in slight contrast to what you have indicated, which would be considered oviviparous in that the eggs develop with no connection to the mother, though she does retain them within her body during development.  This type of development is displayed by various types of snakes, for example.

Cheers,
Dave

[Rasputin]

xeric - belonging to a dry or arid habitat

mesic - belonging to a moist or humid habitat

arboreal is misspelled, not that it matters much
if arboreal is up there then terrestrial should be as well

Edited by Rasputin, 18 February 2008 - 05:30 AM.

[phasmidkid023]

How would you pronounce Aculeus??