ID help please

Protorian

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 21, 2015
Messages
2
I have caught several of these scorpions in Utah County, Utah. And have been trying to see if anyone could help me positively I.D. them. I believe they are Desert Hairy but could possibly be Bark scorpions. I would like to know just in case as I do mess around with them quite a bit. Thank you for any input that you guys can provide.

Scorpions.jpg Scorpion.jpg
 

Smokehound714

Arachnoking
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Messages
3,091
they're both vaejovids, aside from that the images arent high enough in detail.
 

Protorian

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 21, 2015
Messages
2
Good call I bet they are Vaejovis Confusus. And yes I can actually zoom the picture in and out on phone but couldn't get a better one to easily post on the forums.

These are actually the most tame wild scorpions I have played with showing little/no aggression even when provoked.
 

Desert scorps

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
359
Definately vaejovis, I think it could be vaejovis confusus but i am not exactly sure. I have been trying to ID some vaejovis species i caught in saint george. Also, would you mind me asking where exactly did you find these? I live in utah county and i really want to find some :D
 

Smokehound714

Arachnoking
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Messages
3,091
They do look like confusus, but remember- the species group their in has several species that are nearly identical!


you're gonna have to get an up close look at the claws to know for sure.

Williams, 1980: 55, 56-57, fig. 53P, 54J, 58, 59 (Vaejovis confusus:):

Diagnosis. Adults to 55 mm long; base color of body pale yellow, pedipalp fingers slightly more reddish than palm, no distinctive color pattern dorsally. Metasoma with ventrolateral keels crenulate to serrate on segments I-V; ventromedian keels basically smooth on segment I, smooth to faintly crenulate on segments II and III, crenulate on segment IV; segment I as wide or wider than long, segment II as long as wide or slightly longer, segment III longer than wide, segment V 1.9-2.1 times longer than wide. Pedipalp with elongate fingers, slender palm, ratio of movable-finger length to carapace length 0.9-1.0; ratio of chela length to palm width 3.9-4.2; ratio of movable-finger length to palm width 2.5-2.8; palm keeled with rounded, sometimes indistinct, granules; supernumerary granules 6 on fixed finger, 7 on movable finger; pectine teeth 14-19 in males, 10-14 in females; telson with ventral surface of vesicle with many broad, rounded granules.
Similar to Vaejovis waeringi but differs as follows: metasoma with ventromedian keels finely crenulate on segment III (not smooth to crenulate); ratio of fixed-finger length to palm length 1.1 or less; ratio of chela length to palm width less than 5.0 in males, less than 4.3 in females; ratio of palm width to brachium width less than 1.0; movable finger of pedipalp slightly shorter than carapace.


Source: Vaejovidae.com


A very similar and closely related species is V. waeringi, though i dont think waeringi ranges into utah, I believe the northernmost range for waeringi is extreme southern nevada, they have much more slender palps, and can be mistaken for serradigitus, as they have a rather pronounced denticle on their chelal fingers.

Judging by how common confusus is in Utah (SCAN -Symbiota Collections of Arthropods Network- has a ton of locality reports in Utah!), I'd say you've got it right :)
 
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