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Sticker of Eastern bark scorpion
Bug card No. 1460 of 4,939

Eastern bark scorpion

Uroplectes vittatus
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsScorpions, ticks and friendsDeserts and dry places8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The eastern bark scorpion is a small scorpion from southern Africa. It is pale yellow to orange with a darker back.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. It is an arachnid with eight legs, a cousin of the spiders.
Lives in
Southern Africa
Length
6 cm (2.4 in)
at most, with the tail stretched out
Top speed
about 2 km/h (1.2 mph)
On foot, estimate
What does it eat?
Like other scorpions, it hunts insects and other small creatures.
For real!Photo of Eastern bark scorpion
Picture by Robert Webster Depicted place: Ngamiland East, BW-NC, BW ( 19°53′51″S 23°16′57″E  /  19.897425°S 23.2824433333°E  / -19.897425; 23.2824433333 ). CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Eastern bark scorpion about 6 cm long (2.4 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 2 toy building bricks in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 1.8 seconds

How big is Eastern bark scorpion compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It usually has a line of pale yellow marks down the middle of its back.

2

Many have a dark triangle or V shape in front of their eyes.

3

Scorpions have eight legs, just like spiders, because they are arachnids too.

you asked

Most asked questions about Eastern bark scorpion

?How big is the eastern bark scorpion?

It is smaller than 6 centimetres, even with its tail stretched out.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Uroplectes vittatus
Group
Scorpions, ticks and friends
Family
Buthidae
Classification
Arachnida > Scorpiones > Buthidae
Lives on
Africa

Where the facts come from

  1. Uroplectes vittatus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Robert Webster Depicted place: Ngamiland East, BW-NC, BW ( 19°53′51″S 23°16′57″E  /  19.897425°S 23.2824433333°E  / -19.897425; 23.2824433333 ). CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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More from the same group: Scorpions, ticks and friends

Also at home here: Deserts and dry places

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