Scorpion Species with Smaller Body Sizes and Narrower Chelae Have the Highest Venom Potency

Forde, Alannah; Jacobsen, Adam; Dugon, Michel M.; Healy, Kevin

doi:10.3390/toxins14030219

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…In addition, a correlation was found between high levels of LD 50 and the presence of a long movable finger in a scorpion, which also fit well into the morphological description of Leiurus scorpions [ 19 ]. A similar opinion was reached by the team of authors of another study [ 29 ], who also associate long and thin chela with greater scorpion venom. In addition, the relationship between the size and the venomousness of the scorpion was found—the smaller the species is, the more venomous it is.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Study of the Acute Toxicity of Scorpion Leiurus macroctenus Venom in Rats

Gunas,

Maievskyi,

Raksha

et al. 2024

The Scientific World Journal

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Background. The expansion of the territory of human habitation leads to inevitable interference in the natural range of distribution of one or another species of animals, some of which may be dangerous for human life. Scorpions—the Arachnida class and order Scorpiones—can be considered as such typical representatives. Scorpions of the Buthidae family pose a particular danger to humans. However, LD50 has not yet been defined for many species of this family, in particular, new representatives of the genus Leiurus. Leiurus macroctenus is a newly described species of scorpion distributed in Oman, and the toxicity of its venom is still unknown. Estimating the LD50 of the venom is the first and most important step in creating the antivenom and understanding the medical significance of the researched animal species. The purpose of this study was to determine the lethal dose (LD100), the maximum tolerated dose (LD0), and the average lethal dose (LD50) in rats when using Leiurus macroctenus scorpion venom. Methods and Results. 15 sexually mature scorpions were used in the study, which were kept in the same conditions and milked by a common method (electric milking). For the study, 60 male rats were used, which were injected intramuscularly with 0.5 ml of venom solution with a gradual increase in the dose (5 groups, 10 rats in each), and 10 rats were injected intramuscularly with physiological solution as control group. LD calculations were done using probit analysis method in the modification of the method by V.B. Prozorovsky. The LD0 of Leiurus macroctenus scorpion venom under the conditions of intramuscular injection was 0.02 mg/kg, LD100 was 0.13 mg/kg, and LD50 was 0.08 ± 0.01 mg/kg. Conclusions. The analysis of scientific publications and other sources of information gives reason to believe that Leiurus macroctenus has one of the highest values of LD50 not only among scorpions but also among all arthropods in the world. All these point to the significant clinical importance of this species of scorpion and require further research that will concern the toxic effect of its venom on various organ systems. Determining the LD50 of the venom for new scorpion species is crucial for creating effective antivenoms and understanding the medical implications of envenomation by this species.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Study of the Acute Toxicity of Scorpion Leiurus macroctenus Venom in Rats

Gunas,

Maievskyi,

Raksha

et al. 2024

The Scientific World Journal

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“…Similarly, fear elicited by three scorpion stimuli was mutually comparable, although the consequences of envenomation by these genera differ sharply (Forde et al 2022 ). The thick-tailed scorpions ( Parabuthus ) have highly potent venom (Isbister and Bawaskar 2014 ; Schaffrath et al 2018 ; Kovařík et al 2019 ; Ward et al 2018 ), while the burrowing scorpions, despite their large body size, represent no reliable danger to humans.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Animals evoking fear in the Cradle of Humankind: snakes, scorpions, and large carnivores

Frynta

Elmi

Rexová

et al. 2023

Sci Nat

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Theories explain the presence of fears and specific phobias elicited by animals in contemporary WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) populations by their evolutionary past in Africa. Nevertheless, empirical data about fears of animals in the Cradle of Humankind are still fragmentary. To fill this gap, we examined which local animals are perceived as the most frightening by Somali people, who inhabit a markedly similar environment and the region where humans have evolved. We asked 236 raters to rank 42 stimuli according to their elicited fear. The stimuli were standardized pictures of species representing the local fauna. The results showed that the most frightening animals were snakes, scorpions, the centipede, and large carnivores (cheetahs and hyenas). These were followed up by lizards and spiders. Unlike in Europe, spiders represent less salient stimuli than scorpions for Somali respondents in this study. This conforms to the hypothesis suggesting that fear of spiders was extended or redirected from other chelicerates.

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“…In a phylogenetic context, do species that depend on their pincers for subjugating the prey and rely less on venom (Garcıá et al, 2022) have "stronger" immune systems? Given that those species also tend to have less potent venoms (Forde et al, 2022), this prediction only holds if the same toxins acting on prey or predators have antimicrobial properties as well. Additionally, these results offer the possibility to explore multiple aspects of venom ecology related to infection risk from foraging and how it may vary with changing ecological factors that influence venom quality like diet (Tobassum et al, 2018), sex (Gao et al, 2021), predation pressure (Gangur et al, 2017), and ontogeny, which in fact influence the expression of antimicrobial peptides in the venom gland (McElroy et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scorpion venom and its adaptive role against pathogens: a case study in Centruroides granosus Thorell, 1876 and Escherichia coli

Gálvez¹,

Bonilla²,

Vega³

2023

Front. Arachn. Sci.

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Scorpion venoms have been studied extensively, mostly aimed at applications for human health, with strong evidence of antimicrobial properties. However, ecological studies on the adaptive role of these antimicrobial properties have been mostly neglected. Here, this study investigated in the scorpion Centruroides granosus Thorell, 1876 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) whether the venom provided protection against the consumption of crickets injected with a pathogenic strain of the bacteria Escherichia coli. Preventing venom injection when consuming contaminated prey decreased scorpion survival as compared to their controls (phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) injection) and scorpions that injected the venom. Scorpions that injected the venom did not show lower survival when consuming contaminated prey as compared to their own control, and there was no difference in survival for the controls of scorpions that were prevented or allowed to inject the venom. Altogether, the results highlight the adaptive benefit of the venom for scorpions when coping with potentially hazardous prey. The implications of the findings are discussed, and this work seeks to encourage more work on the neglected field of venom evolutionary ecology of scorpions and other arthropods.

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Scorpion Species with Smaller Body Sizes and Narrower Chelae Have the Highest Venom Potency

Cited by 12 publications

References 86 publications

Study of the Acute Toxicity of Scorpion Leiurus macroctenus Venom in Rats

Study of the Acute Toxicity of Scorpion Leiurus macroctenus Venom in Rats

Animals evoking fear in the Cradle of Humankind: snakes, scorpions, and large carnivores

Scorpion venom and its adaptive role against pathogens: a case study in Centruroides granosus Thorell, 1876 and Escherichia coli

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