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scorpion
A venomous terrestrial arthropod in the class Arachnida, order Scorpionida.

It is characterized by a five-segmented, flexible, tail-like postabdomen ending in the aculeus, or stinger, which is carried arched forward over its head.

There are four pairs of legs and a large anterior pair of pedipalps with strong distal chelae or pincers. Scorpions are nocturnally active predators feeding on other arthropods and similar prey.

A pair of venom glands connects via fine ducts to the tip of the stinger. Some 1100 to 1900 people, mostly young children, are said to die annually from scorpion stings in Mexico. In North Africa, deaths from scorpion stings greatly exceed those from snakebites.

This entry is located in the following unit: scorpi-, scorp- + (page 1)
(Greek > Latin > Old French: Greek skorpios, Latin scorpionem, Old French scorpion; poisonous animal related to the spiders)