Field Guide Scorpions of South Africa, by Ian Engelbrecht

Field Guide Scorpions of South Africa, by Ian Engelbrecht. Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa. Imprint: Struik Nature. Cape Town, South Africa 2023. ISBN 9781775845744 / ISBN 978-1-77-584574-4

Introduction to the Field Guide Scorpions of South Africa by Ian Engelbrecht.

Whether out of fear or ignorance, many people regard scorpions as frightening, repulsive or dangerous. While scorpions do sting when hunting or defending themselves, only a small proportion of species, less than 5%, is dangerously venomous, potentially causing deaths in humans. Field Guide Scorpions of South Africa, by Ian Engelbrecht is the first comprehensive identification guide to scorpions in South Africa, describing all the species recorded to date in the country. It aims to make scorpion identification accessible to anyone with an interest in these fascinating creatures, and to show that searching for, identifying and observing them can be a rewarding and fun activity that will enrich any outdoor excursion. It is also hoped that this guide will encourage nature enthusiasts to participate in citizen science platforms, thereby contributing to building our knowledge of South Africa's biodiversity. South Africa has a remarkable range of plant and animal diversity and is among the three top biodiversity hotspots in the world, after Brazil and Indonesia. Tens of thousands of insects and hundreds of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians occur in nine distinct biomes. Scorpions are an important constituent of this biodiversity, and can be found in almost every terrestrial habitat, from deserts to forests, and from coastlines to the highest mountain peaks. There are currently almost 3,000 species of scorpion known worldwide, divided into 22 families (although there is disagreement among experts on the classification of some of the families). Three families occur in South Africa, namely the Buthidae, Hormuridae and Scorpionidae. The family Buthidae comprises scorpions with thick tails and thin pincers, and the majority of medically important scorpions worldwide belong to this family. In South Africa there are 41 species in seven genera. One of these species, Uroplectes ansiedippenaarae, is South Africa's smallest scorpion, at around 2cm in length. Another local buthid, Parabuthus villosus, is the largest buthid species in the world, reaching over 14cm. The scorpions in the families Hormuridae and Scorpionidae typically have large, thick pincers and thin tails, and are collectively called thin-tailed scorpions. In South Africa, the Hormuridae comprise 27 species in three genera, including the creeping and rock scorpions. The Scorpionidae family is represented by one genus, the burrowing scorpions, with 40 described species. With 108 species in total, South Africa has a high diversity of scorpions for a country of its size. Although Mexico and India top the list of countries with the highest number of species - 270 and 120 species respectively - these countries are considerably larger in size than South Africa. By contrast, South Africa has ten times the species diversity of Australia if country size is taken into account, with that country being seven times larger and having only around 50 scorpion species. There are two main reasons for South Africa's high scorpion diversity. The first is that, like Mexico, South Africa is largely arid, with much of the western half of the country as well as parts of the Bushveld receiving relatively low annual rainfall. This makes large swathes of the country ideal for scorpions, which are particularly well adapted to surviving in dry conditions. The second reason is that South Africa is topographically and geologically diverse, particularly in the arid western parts of the country. [...]

This is an excerpt from Field Guide Scorpions of South Africa, by Ian Engelbrecht.

Title: Field Guide Scorpions of South Africa
Authors: Ian Engelbrecht
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
Imprint: Struik Nature
Cape Town, South Africa 2023
ISBN 9781775845744 / ISBN 978-1-77-584574-4
Hardcover, dustjacket, 15 x 21 cm, 292 pages, throughout colour photographs, illustrations and distribution maps