Science/Tech

Scorpions Use Strongest Weapon When In Danger

By Christine Hsu | Update Date: Nov 14, 2013 11:19 AM EST

A new study reveals that scorpions tend to use their strongest weapon when under attack.

Lead researcher Arie van der Meijden and colleagues at Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO) in Vairão, Portugal said that scorpions can choose to use either their pincers or their stingers to defend themselves.

While the effect of either the pincers or the stinger depend on the physical characteristics of the scorpion, researchers believe that the actual weapon that the scorpion chooses to use when defending itself can depend on other evolutionary adaptations. Researchers said it is still unclear whether their behavioral responses are actually associated with maximum performance ability.

Van der Meijden and his team compared behavioral responses, performance measurements of pincers and stingers, and scorpion physical characteristics in individual scorpions.

The study revealed that the pinch force and venom strength were highly variable but did correlate with specific physical characteristics of pincers and stingers. Researchers found that behavioral defense responses were also very different. However, they correlated with both the physical characteristics and performance measurements of pincers and stingers. The findings revealed that scorpions generally selected their strongest defensive behavior. For instance, scorpion species with strong pincers are most likely to use their pincers to defend themselves.

Researchers said that the latest findings suggest that scorpion behavior is correlated with performance when these animals are put in situations where survival calls for maximum performance.

"We found clear relationships between shape, performance, and behavior, even when taking their evolutionary history into account. When it comes to defense, it seems scorpions choose their best weapons. I managed to not even get stung once during this research," Van der Meijden said in a news release.

The findings are published in the journal PLOS ONE.

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