Review study of scorpion classification in Iran

Abstract

This is a review study about scorpions. Scorpions are the order of Arachnida. They have poisonous and painful stings and their habitat is in the tropical and temperate regions of the world. In Iran, scorpion sting is one of the main health concerns, affecting many persons annually, and some of them lead to death. Identification of the scorpion species in each region and knowing their ecology and biology in order to prevent and treat the victims is very important. The aim of the present study was the revaluation of scorpion taxonomy condition in Iran. Up to now, a total of 59 species of Scorpionidae have been reported in Iran. More than 84% of the indentified species belonged to the family of Buthidae, 1.5% belonged to the Hemiscorpiidae and about 5% of them related to the Scorpionidae. Identification of scorpions in Iran has been done based on the morphologic parameters. For the completion of the data on scorpions in Iran, beside the morphologic methods the cell and molecular methods are recommended.