Indian red scorpion
The Indian red scorpion is a small, venomous scorpion found across most of India, eastern Pakistan, the eastern lowlands of Nepal and, more recently, Sri Lanka. It often lives close to people, so its sting is a serious concern in busy rural areas, especially for children.1

Cómo reconocerlo
- Its walking legs and the tips of its pincers are bright orange-yellow to light reddish-brown.1
- Its body is about 5 to 9 cm long (50 to 90 mm).1
- It has three distinct ridges (carinae) on the top of its body segments.1
- It has rather small pincers, a moderately thick tail and a rounded tail tip with a large stinger.1
- In males, the base of the pincers is slightly more swollen than in females.1
Se confunde a menudo con: Under tree bark, its close relative Hottentotta pachyurus is far more common, making up about 91% of scorpions found there in one study in Pune, western India. Scorpions found under bark in that area are therefore more likely to be that species.1
Poder del veneno
El veneno sale por un aguijón.
¿Qué hace su veneno?
The venom is a complex mixture of proteins, including a toxin called tamapin. It mainly affects the heart and lungs, causing symptoms such as severe local pain, vomiting, sweating, unconsciousness, muscle convulsions, breathlessness, abnormal heart rhythms, shock and pulmonary oedema (fluid in the lungs), which may cause death.1
¿Qué peligro tiene para las personas?
Peligro para las personas: MortalUno de los animales más peligrosos del mundo.It is of great medical significance in densely populated areas of India and Nepal and occasionally causes human deaths. Clinical studies report fatality rates of 8 to 40%, and most victims are children. In Sri Lanka, 12 children in Jaffna died from its stings in 2011, and 80 patients were recorded in 2012.1
Buena noticia: los médicos tienen un medicamento (antídoto) o un tratamiento para esto.1
Si pica
- Antivenin is the specific treatment, combined with supportive care such as vasodilators for heart effects and benzodiazepines for muscle effects. Scorpion antivenom has shown little effect in clinical treatment, while the drug prazosin, which lowers raised blood pressure, is usually recommended and reduces the mortality rate to less than 4%. Get to a hospital fast.1
- Enfría la picadura con hielo y mantén quieta a la persona. Busca ayuda médica rápido, sobre todo para niños: algunos escorpiones son mortales para los niños.
Llama siempre primero a tu número de emergencias (112, 000, 911). Esto son pautas generales de primeros auxilios, no consejo médico. Primeros auxilios básicos
Mantente a salvo
- Nunca toques, atrapes ni molestes a un animal salvaje, aunque sea pequeño y aunque parezca dormido o muerto.
- Déjale espacio. Si te encuentras uno, mantén la calma, retrocede despacio y deja que siga su camino.
- Si te pica: mantén la calma, no te muevas, llama a tu número de emergencias (112, 000, 911) o ve rápido a un hospital. Recuerda cómo era, una foto ayuda.
No va a por ti. Usa su veneno para cazar o defenderse, y prefiere mil veces esconderse. Más sobre cómo protegerte
¿En qué parte del mundo?
¿Qué tamaño tiene?
¿Cuánto mide?
mide como 3 piezas de construcción de juguete en fila
podría recorrer 100 metros en 220 segundos (el humano más rápido necesita 9,6)¿Qué tamaño tiene Indian red scorpion comparado contigo?
Solo cálculos en tu navegador. No se guarda ni se envía nada a ningún sitio.
¿Qué velocidad alcanza?
Datos
Most of its victims are children, and clinical studies report fatality rates of 8 to 40%.1
It often comes indoors, where it may crawl into beds or fall from ceilings at night.1
Its venom affects the heart and lungs more than the nerves, which is why its symptoms can become life-threatening.1
Prazosin, a drug used to lower blood pressure, reduces its mortality rate to less than 4%.1
It was not originally found in Sri Lanka, but studies from 2010 to 2013 showed it is now present there.1
Cazamitos
Mito: Five different subspecies of the Indian red scorpion exist.
Verdad: R.I. Pocock described five groups in 1900, but these are colour variants (colour morphs), not true subspecies.1
De dónde salen los datos
- Hottentotta tamulus (Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0))
- Hottentotta tamulus (iNaturalist): nombres y clasificación.
- Venom Wiki: el nivel de peligro, el tamaño típico y la velocidad estimada son nuestros. Mira cómo los calculamos: Cómo valoramos el peligro.
Cada dato de esta página tiene un número que lleva a su fuente. Si nos hemos equivocado en algo, perdón, somos fans de los animales, no una revista científica. Escríbenos a [email protected] y lo arreglamos.
Picaduras