Hadogenes

Abstract: An old Egyptian proverb cautions ‘‘Because we focused on the snake, we missed the scorpion’’ For years this proverb has characterized the status of reference books on snakes and scorpions, as comprehensive sources containing knowledge on both the biology and diversity of scorpions were sorely lacking – that is until now! In their new book Scorpions of the World, French biologists Roland Stockmann and Eric Ythier present for the first time a guide to the biology and biodiversity of the world’s extraordinary scorpions Published in both English and French (Scorpions du Monde), the book is organized into six main sections with a handy list of species and their distributions, as well as a glossary Exquisite illustrations and scanning electron micrographs are found throughout, and color plates accompany over 350 species descriptions, many of which describe species that are rare or difficult to find The book is bound in a beautiful hard cover that exhibits a striking photo of an adult Hadogenes paudicens with an instar on its carapace Inside the front and back covers one will find a table of contents and illustrations of Androctonus australis labeling the general external anatomy of a scorpion One of the best features of this book is its size, only slightly larger than a typical field guide and small enough to be carried into the field by adventurous scorpion collectors While not an exhaustive summary of the world’s scorpions, many of which have yet to be discovered, the book should prove useful for identifying many of the scorpion species most commonly encountered in collections and in the field The book begins with a short but elegant foreword by Victor Fet, editor of Euscorpius (a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to scorpions), and one of the most active researchers in the field Next, a substantial introductory section, conveniently organized into multiple subsections, focuses on general topics such as paleontology, general morphology, classification criteria, and collection and preservation techniques of scorpions The section on classification criteria is incredibly useful as it provides a single up-to-date reference for many of the intricate characters used in current classification schemes; characters such as coloration, trichobothria positions, spermatophore and ovariuterus details, and many variations in external morphology I have already found myself reaching for the book and opening to this section to look up the sometimes confusing nomenclature of fine-scale anatomical features like carinae and trichobothria Using these characters and DNA sequence data, researchers, using cladistics, have proposed two different suprageneric level classifications, both of which have been fiercely debated (Soleglad & Fet 2003; Fet & Soleglad 2005; Prendini & Wheeler 2005) I am happy to see that both of these classifications, with slight modifications, are presented in the book The next section is just as detailed as the first and contains an abundance of information on anatomy, venoms, defensins, and biological functions, topped off with a small dose of behavior and ecology Portions about venoms, defensins, and blood are written by Max Goyffon and provide a detailed introduction to these topics These sections, however, are a bit more in depth than the rest of the volume, slightly deviating from the authors’ intention to write a book for amateur naturalists and not for specialist arachnologists Nevertheless, the writing is superb, and Goyffon’s outline of defensins and the architectural similarity of defensin and venom peptides was especially thought provoking, especially from an evolutionary standpoint From there the book outlines the nervous system and sensory organs such as eyes, setae, and various chemoreceptors Quick to reference renowned naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre, who hailed from their own country, the authors also provide a thorough description and illustrations of scorpion courtship and all the intricate behaviors that can be involved, followed by notes on embryology, parturition, parthenogenesis, growth, and molting The section on ecology begins with my favorite illustration of the book, a common burrow of Heterometrus fulvipes that resembles a cross section of a human heart, only with various-sized scorpions crawling out different branches of the aorta! Predator-prey relationships are briefly discussed, as well as theories about r/K selection strategies Scorpion ecotypes, from psammophiles to troglobites, are explained, and burrows and digging behavior are outlined alongside a figure of assorted burrow types The book then progresses to a discussion about the capability of scorpions to endure various environmental stresses such as desiccation, extreme temperatures, starvation, and fire cycles (by remaining protected in their burrows) Goyffon then takes over the writing again, this time steering the book in a strange but interesting direction, exploring the resistance of scorpions to ionizing radiation While it is relatively well-known that scorpions and beetles are among the only animals known to survive near nuclear testing areas, it is seldom mentioned that a bit of research has been done on the subject In 1963, the French government founded a laboratory in Paris at the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle with the purpose of studying the radioresistance of scorpions Research in the lab ceased 10 years later, but some interesting results from the unique studies that took place there are presented in the book with some detail Goyffon continues with the next section on envenomations as well, in 2011 The Journal of Arachnology 39:166–167