Scorpions are among the most understudied and poorly-understood organisms on earth, according to the American Museum of Natural History’s Scorpion Systematics Research Group, which fears that many unique species may disappear before they’ve even been identified. So if you’re a fan of these much-maligned arachnids, here’s your opportunity to contribute to the world’s knowledge and to their conservation.
While no scorpion has yet made the IUCN’s Red List, CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, has stepped in to limit over-harvesting of today’s Endangered All-Star, the Emperor Scorpion, whose fearsome good looks have made it so popular in the pet trade that over 100,000 live specimens were being removed from tropical forests every year. When buying any animal, please make sure that you’re acting responsibly: Many insect and scorpion species can be captive-bred, a sustainable source for collectors. For more on scorpions, see The Scorpion Files or AMNH’s fascinating Scorpion website.
iWild would like to dedicate this Endangered All-Star to Bradley Boyden, Frank Boyden, and the Boyden Family in honor of the PEN Northwest Margery Davis Boyden Wilderness Writing Residency, where we were lucky enough to encounter our first scorpion.
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