Scorpion, Emperor (Pandinus imperator)
Animal facts
Size
Generally reach 8 inches (20cm) in length.
Habitat and Distribution
This African scorpion inhabits the forests and tropical regions of Senegla, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Chad, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it lives in burrows dug by itself up to 12 inches (30cm) deep.
Age
Around 8 years of age.
Diet
These scorpions will feed on almost anything which is smaller than itself, including insects, reptiles, amphibians and small mammals. It is an ambush predator which stings its prey using its tail, to inject a venom which disables and eventually kills its prey.
Groups and Breeding
These scorpions are fairly social and can be found living in groups under tree stumps and in rock crevices or where they have adapted burrows made by larger animals. Breeding can take place throughout the year leading to a female having 9 to 35 live young after a gestation of 7 to 9 months. After this time the young scorpions will crawl straight on to their mothers back where they will live until they have their first moult and produce their stronger more solid exoskeleton.
Threats
Emperor scorpions are preyed upon for food by a vast array of species including monkeys, mongooses, spiders, other socprions, bees, wasps, lizards, various rodents and a number of birds. Even humans are known to eat them regularly in some areas, who also collect them for the pet trade. Their wild numbers however remain very high.
Interesting fact's
Even though these scorpions are black in colour under normal light, if you view them under a "black light" their colour changes to a greenish glow, which makes looking for scorpions in the wild much easier at night than during the day if you have the right type of lighting.