Emperor Scorpion -- Pectines

[Ballpython2]

Last night one of my scorpions was out and about trying to climb out the tank at all the sides.

While he was walking around I was trying to take pictures and I noticed his pectines (the comblike appendages)

kept flapping up and down does this indicate that it was doing some kind of activity

related to mating since the pectines are used by males to sense pharmones?

[dr del]

Hi,


It's possible but they also use their pectines to sense chemicals signals all the time when they explore - it can be quite hard to see in their normal stance unless you are really low or they are on a sheet of glass above you (how I noticed it the first time).

It's like a snake flicking its tongue - at certain times and situations they definately get more excited and test the sourroundings more often.

I now wait to be proven totally wrong .



dr del

[piranhaking]

I've heard they are used to sense vibrations. I never heard about them being used to sense chemical signals. I guess we learn something every day.

[dr del]

Well I'm basing that on the following from "arachnomania - the general care and maintenance of tarantulas & scorpions (page 62)" by Phillipe de Vosjoli which I got in 1992 - so it may have been superceded and no one told me.

The pectines are comb-like sensory structures located on the ventral side of scorpions behind the area where the last set of legs joins to the body and to the side of the postgenital fold. These structures, which are unique to scorpions, function primarily as mechanoreceptors and contact chemoreceptors. They play a key role in selecting areas suitable for spermatophore deposition by males in the course of breeding.

Hope it's ok to post that.

**edit**

ok my code skillz arent up to making that look neat but should hopefully at least gaurantee he gets full credit for his work - I relied very heavily on his expertise in various books for almost every animal I could.

**end edit**



dr del