Opistophthalmus gigas (Purcell, 1898)
Opistophthalmus gigas (Purcell, 1898)
Picture by paulbester
Male Opistophthalmus gigas (Giant Burrowing Scorpion) from Aggeneys.
The largest Opistophthalmus species in the world. From what I saw all adults were longer than 14cm.
The 2nd photo shows some scale and the video clip shows the habitat where he was found.
The conditions here are harsh; average daytime temperature in Summer is 38C and they receive little to almost no rain throughout the year.
Female Opistophthalmus gigas (Giant Burrowing Scorpion) from Aggeneys
The largest species in the Opistophthalmus genus, easily reaching 14cm in length. They inhabit the dry and rocky environments of the Richtersveld and Northern Bushmanland where they dig burrows under large rocks and boulders.
Picture by paulSub-adult male Opistophthalmus gigas (Giant Burrowing Scorpion) from Klein Pella, Northern Cape.
I've yet to photograph an adult specimen from this locality, not that I haven't found them but because of their choice of burrow location.
They like to make their burrows in areas where large rocks have been buried beneath the soil; their burrows would extend quite far down in-between these rocks making it almost impossible to get them out.
Picture by paulOpistophthalmus gigas (Giant Burrowing Scorpion) from Aggeneys
The largest of all Opistophthalmus, they can reach lengths of 16cm. There are a few examples of how big they are in my video tab.
This species is mostly found around the border with Namibia in the Richtersveld and Bushmanland of South Africa. By far some of the most arid regions in the country, with minimal vegetation cover, sweltering heat and only a bit more than 10cm of annual rainfall a year, it is not an easy place to survive for any animal.
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