New scorpion species discovered, named after Greek hero Achilles

(Patria) - The newly discovered scorpion species Tityus achilles was found in the Colombian rainforest of the Magdalena Valley, reports Zimo.hr.

This is a revolutionary discovery, representing the first scorpion that sprays venom, discovered in South America and within the genus Tityus.

Unlike other local species that inhabit trees, Tityus achilles primarily lives on the forest floor.

Named after the Greek hero Achilles, the scorpion's venom-spraying mechanism was analyzed by scientist Léo Laborieux from Harvard University, who recorded 46 venom pulses using a special camera, writes IFLScience.

Two different defensive tactics were observed: venom flicking - which involves short-range individual droplets, and venom spraying - which ejects venom over longer distances. Of the recorded instances, 14 were flicks and 24 were sprays.

The study, published in the journal "Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society", also found that the venom composition evolves with repeated pulses.

Initially, scorpions produce a clear pre-venom, which after a few pulses turns into a denser, white secretion. The longest recorded spraying distance was approximately 36 centimeters.

"Scorpions have to greatly accelerate their metabolism to produce venom. For them, it's like running a marathon. It takes a lot of effort to do it, but then they never use that much venom," Dr. Arie van der Meijden from the CIBIO-InBIO institute in Portugal, who was not involved in the study, told IFLScience.

Young scorpions were used in the experiment, leaving open questions about whether the venom-spraying behavior differs in adult scorpions of this species.

Laborieux also suggested that comparing venom usage tactics among different scorpion genera could shed light on their evolutionary adaptations.