Scorpion: The night hunter older than the dinosaurs

A scorpion may look alarming, but in terms of "seniority" it is far older than the dinosaurs. It has lived on Earth for hundreds of millions of years with barely any change — a true "living fossil." Let's meet this nocturnal hunter.

Its body

A scorpion's shape is easy to recognise: a pair of large pincers, a long body, and a curving tail tipped with a venomous sting. It hunts at night, gripping prey tightly with its pincers, then injecting venom with its tail. Those pincers can reach out a long way and hold very firmly. A scorpion's exoskeleton glows under ultraviolet light — which is exactly how researchers count them one by one in the desert with a UV torch.

Where it lives and its rare "care"

A scorpion is a meat-eater, hunting insects, spiders and even small reptiles. It lives in warm, dry regions, hiding in crevices, caves or the soil by day and coming out at night. The most surprising thing is its "maternal care": a mother scorpion carries her newly hatched young, one after another, on her back until they can manage alone. Such parental care is quite rare among arthropods.

A note for grown-ups

If a child is both afraid of and curious about scorpions, you can explain it this way: its sting is powerful, but it is often shy, hiding by day and living by night with its glow and pincers. The safest and most respectful way to meet a scorpion is to keep your distance and not provoke it.