Wisconsin Scorpion

A scorpion was allegedly discovered under a board on a Deerfield, WI, farm. It was taken to a local animal shelter. "Authorities speculated it might be an escaped pet." No description is given, no photo is shown. Of the man who found it: "He knew it was a scorpion, but only realized it was one of the poisonous varieties when researching it on the Internet Friday night." Not sure what that means. (All scorpions are venomous to varying degrees.) I suspect this means the animal is very small -- some small scorpions being much more dangerous than the larger common pet species. If it is small, then I'm wondering if it might be a native pseudoscorpion that is being misidentified. I don't think Wisconsin has native scorpions. (Vaejovis might be the closest in range?) Hopefully someone will show it to a professional... (News source.)

Scorpions in the UAE

Not herps, but still interesting, an article on scorpions in the UAE.

Scorpion Venom for Medicine

OK, not a herp, but interesting: a peptide (GaTx1 peptide) from the Giant Israeli Scorpion, Leiurus quinquestriatus hebraeus, may help researchers understand how to control cystic fibrosis and other secretory diseases. (News source.)