SCORPIONIDAE
Latreille, 1802

This family consists of 18 genera and 198 species (only extant taxa are counted) [Updated 19.02.24], and have representatives in Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, Central and South America.

Some of the world's largest scorpions belong to this family, and because of this some members of this family are very common in the pet industry (e.g. Pandinus imperator and Heterometrus spp.). The largest species known thus far are Heterometrus swammerdami from India and Sri Lanka and Pandinus imperator, which can reach lengths between 15 and 20 cm and up to 32 g mass.

The members of this family have a pentagonal sternum and very powerful, broad pedipalps (especially the hands [chelae] of the pedipalps). The scorpionids occupy savannahs, humid forests and rainforests, but some (like Scorpio and many of the Diplocentrids) are found in drier habitats.

Most species in this family are considered to be relatively harmless, but a serious case has been reported for Heterometrus. A few serious cases involving the genus Nebo in the Middle East have also been reported. See species file for more information.

Diplocentridae as a valid family:
In a revision of the higher scorpion systematics, Soleglad & Fet (2003) abolished the family Diplocentridae and included all genera into Scorpionidae. They are closly related to the Scorpionidae, but can be seperated from these by the presence of a subaculear spine on the telson (the Scorpionids lack this feature). In 2017, several researchers treat Diplocentridaee as a valid family (e.g. Santibanez-Lopez, Kriebel & Sharma, 2017). The scorpion Files still lists Diplocentridae as a subfamily, but this is under consideration and may change in the time to come.
August 2019: Diplocentridae is reinstated as family in The Scorpion Files

October 2020: Rugodentus Bastawade et al., 2005 is transferred to the new family Rugodentidae Bastawade et al., 2005. In this Prendini and Loria paper the genus Heterometrus is revised and several new genera are created.

The genus Urodacus was transfered from the abolished family Urodacidae by Soleglad, Fet & Kovarik in April 2005.

Synonyms and subspecies in the genus Opistophthalmus was revised by Lorenzo Prendini in 2001 (Prendini, L. A review of synonyms and subspecies in the genus Opistophthalmus C. L. Koch (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae). African Entomology, 9 (1), pp. 17-48)

Genus Pandinus was revised by Rossi in 2015. See The Scorpion Files News Blog for more details.

The genus Heterometrus was revised by Kovarik in December 2004. The paper has an identification key. The complete paper is available here (free pdf file).

Part of genus Pandinus sensu lata has been revised by Lorenzo Prendini in October 2016

Part of genus Pandinus sensu lata has been given a major revision by Kovarik et al in February 2017 (Open Access paper).

Lourenco, 2009 have reanalyzed the genus Scorpio and given speciesstatus to several taxa. Other subspecies have been investigated by Talal et al., 2015 and given subspecies status. See Family Updates for details.

Scorpio maurus photo (left) by Jeff Dawson (C).
Pandinus imperator
photo (right) by Jan Ove Rein (C).

SPECIES FILES:
This list of genera and species is based on Fet et al.(2000). September 2019: Subspecies are included in the list. I try to update the list as additions and changes are published. * denotes changes after Fet et al. (2000). I will be grateful for information about new development in the taxonomy of this family. For information about synonyms and bibliographies, see Fet et al. (2000)
See also Soleglad & Fet (2003) for more information. Fulltext freely available HERE (issue 11).

Aops Volschenk & Prendini, 2008*! (1)
A. oncodactylus Volschenk & Prendini, 2008*!
!The family Urodacidae was abolished by Soleglad, Fet & Kovarik in 2005 and the subfamily Urodacinae was transfered to Scorpionidae. Volschenk & Prendini have not accepted this deccision (more information about this), and retained the family Urodacidae (and placed the new genus and species in this family because of its close relationship to Urodacus). The taxonomy of The Scorpion Files follows Soleglad & Fet (2005), and I have here listed Aops in Scorpionidae. This is formally not correct, but is the best choice in the current situation until a new revision on higher scorpion systematics is published.
Chersonesometrus Couzijn, 1978(10)
C. bastawadei Prendini & Loria, 2020*
C. beccaloniae (Kovarik, 2004)*
C. fulvipes (C. L. Koch, 1837)*
C. hendersoni Prendini & Loria, 2020*
C. madraspatensis (Pocock, 1900)*
C. nathanorum Prendini & Loria, 2020*
C. pelekomanus (Couzijn, 1981)*
C. shivashankari Prendini & Loria, 2020*
C. tristis (Henderson, 1919)*
C. wroughtoni (Pocock, 1899)*
Deccanometrus Prendini & Loria, 2020* (7)
D. bengalensis (C. L. Koch, 1841)*
D. latimanus (Pocock, 1894)*
D. liurus (Pocock, 1897)
D. obscurus (Couzijn, 1981)*
D. phipsoni (Pocock, 1893)*
D. ubicki (Kovarik, 2004)*
D. xanthopus (Pocock, 1897)*
Gigantometrus Couzijn, 1978* (2)
G. swammerdami (Simon, 1872)*
G. titanicus (Couzijn, 1981)*
Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828 (10)
H. cimrmani Kovarik, 2004
H. glaucus (Thorell, 1876)*
H. laevigatus (Thorell, 1876) [Nomen dubium]*
H. laoticus Couzijn, 1981
H. longimanus (Herbst 1800)
H. minotaurus Pliskova, Kovarik, Kosulic & Stahlavsky, 2016*
H. petersii (Thorell, 1876)
H. silenus (Simon, 1884)*
H. spinifer (Ehrenberg, 1828)
H. thorellii (Pocock, 1892)*
Javanimetrus Couzijn, 1978* (1)
J. cyaneus (C. L. Koch, 1836)*
Opistophthalmus C. L. Koch, 1837 (60)
O. adustus Kraepelin, 1908
O. ammopus Lamoral, 1980
O. ater Purcell, 1898
O. austerus Karsch, 1879
O. boehmi (Kraepelin, 1896)
O. brevicauda Lawrence, 1928
O. capensis (Herbst, 1800)
O. capensis capensis (Herbst, 1800)
O. carinatus (Peters, 1861)
O. cavimanus Lawrence, 1928
O. chaperi Simon, 1880
O. chrysites Lawrence, 1967
O. coetzeei Lamoral, 1979
O. concinnus Newlands, 1972
O. crassimanus Purcell, 1899
O. fitzsimonsi Hewitt, 1935
O. flavescens Purcell, 1898
O. fossor Purcell, 1898
O. fuscipes Purcell, 1898*
O. gibbericauda Lamoral, 1979
O. gigas Purcell, 1898
O. glabrifrons Peters, 1861
O. granicauda Purcell, 1898
O. granifrons Pocock, 1896
O. haackei Lawrence, 1966
O. harpei Harington, 2001*
O. holmi (Lawrence, 1969)
O. intercedens Kraepelin, 1908
O. intermedius Kraepelin, 1894
O. jenseni (Lamoral, 1972)
O. karrooensis Purcell, 1898
O. keilandsi Hewitt, 1914*
O. lamorali Prendini, 2000*
O. laticauda Purcell, 1898
O. latimanus C. L. Koch, 1841
O. latro Thorell, 1876*
O. lawrencei Newlands, 1969*
O. leipoldti Purcell, 1898*
O. litoralis Lawrence, 1955
O. longicauda Purcell, 1899
O. lornae Lamoral, 1979
O. luciranus Lawrence, 1959*
O. macer Thorell, 1876
O. nitidiceps Pocock, 1896
O. opinatus (Simon, 1888)
O. pallipes C. L. Koch, 1842
O. pattisoni Purcell, 1899
O. penrithorum Lamoral, 1979
O. peringueyi Purcell, 1898
O. pictus Kraepelin, 1894
O. pluridens Hewitt, 1918*
O. praedo Thorell, 1876*
O. pugnax Thorell, 1876*
O. pygmaeus Lamoral, 1979
O. scabrifrons Hewitt, 1918*
O. schlechteri Purcell, 1898
O. schultzei Kraepelin, 1908
O. setifrons Lawrence, 1961
O. tumas Ythier, 2023*
O. ugabensis Hewitt, 1934
O. wahlbergii Thorell, 1876
Pandiborellius Rossi, 2015* (10)
P. arabicus (Kraepelin, 1894)
P. awashensis (Kovarik, 2012)*
P. igdu Kovarik, Lowe, Soleglad & Pliskova, 2017*
P. insularis Kovarik, Lowe, Soleglad & Pliskova, 2017*
P. lanzai (Rossi, 2015)*
P. magrettii (Borelli, 1901)
P. meidensis (Karsch, 1879)
P. nistriae (Rossi, 2014)*
P. percivali (Pocock, 1902)
P. somalilandus (Kovarik, 2012)*
Pandinoides Fet, 1997 (3)
P. cavimanus (Pocock, 1888)
P. duffmackayi Prendini, 2016*
P. militaris (Pocock, 1900)
Pandinops Birula, 1913 (9)
P. bellicosus (L. Koch, 1875)
P. boschisi (Caporiacco, 1937)* [nomen dubium]
P. colei (Pocock, 1896)
P. eritreaensis (Kovarik, 2003)*
P. friedrichi Kovarik, 2016*
P. platycheles (Werner, 1916)*
P. pococki (Kovarik, 2000)*
P. pugilator (Pocock, 1900)*
P. turieli Kovarik, 2016*
Pandinopsis Vachon, 1974 (1)
P. dictator (Pocock, 1888)
Pandinurus Fet, 1997 (17)
P. afar Kovarik, Lowe, Soleglad & Pliskova, 2017*
P. awalei Kovarik, Lowe & Elmi, 2020*
P. citernii (Borelli, 1919)*
P. exitialis (Pocock, 1888)
P. fulvipes Kovarik, Lowe & Mazuch, 2019*
P. gregoryi (Pocock, 1896)
P. hangarale Kovarik, Lowe, Mazuch, Awale, Stundlova & Stahlavsky, 2017*
P. intermedius (Borelli, 1919)*
P. kmoniceki Kovarik, Lowe, Mazuch, Pliskova & Stahlavsky, 2017*
P. mazuchi (Kovarik, 2011)*
P. oromo Kovarik, Lowe, Soleglad & Pliskova, 2017*
P. pallidus (Kraepelin, 1894)
P. phillipsii (Pocock, 1896)
P. riccardoi Rossi, 2015*
P. smithi (Pocock, 1899)
P. sudanicus (Hirst, 1911)*
P. trailini (Kovarik, 2013)*
Pandinus Thorell, 1876 (5)
P. gambiensis Pocock, 1899
P. imperator (C. L. Koch, 1841)
P. sahelicus Ythier & Audibert, 2023*
P. ugandaensis Kovarik, 2011*
P. ulderigoi Rossi, 2014*
Pandipalpus Rossi, 2015 (2)
P. lowei (Kovarik, 2012)*
P. viatoris (Pocock, 1890)
Sahyadrimetrus Prendini & Loria, 2020* (6)
S. barberi (Pocock, 1900)*
S. kanarensis (Pocock, 1900)*
S. mathewi Prendini & Loria, 2020*
S. rugosus (Couzijn, 1981)*
S. scaber (Thorell, 1876)*
S. tikaderi Prendini & Loria, 2020*
Scorpio Linnaeus, 1758 (24)
S. atakor Ythier, Sadine, Bengaid & Lourenço, 2024*
S. atlasensis Khammassi, Harris & Sadine, 2023*
S. birulai Fet, 1997*
S. ennedi Lourenço, Duhem & Cloudsley-Thompson, 2012*
S. fuliginosus (Pallary, 1928)*
S. fuscus (Ehrenberg, 1829)*
S. granulomanus Al-Saraireh, Yagmur, Afifeh & Amr, 2023*
S. hesperus Birula, 1910*
S. iznassen Ythier & Francois, 2023*
S. kruglovi Birula, 1910*
S. maurus Linnaeus, 1758
S. maurus maurus Linnaeus, 1758
S. maurus arabicus (Pocock, 1900)
S. maurus behringsi Schenkel, 1949 [nomen dubium]
S. maurus stemmleri Schenkel, 1949 [nomen dubium]
S. maurus towsendi (Pocock, 1900)
S. mogadorensis Birula, 1910*
S. moulouya Ythier & Francois, 2023*
S. niger Lourenço & Cloudsley-Thompson, 2012*
S. occidentalis Werner, 1936*
S. palmatus (Ehrenberg, 1828)*
S. propinquus (Simon, 1872)*
S. punicus Fet, 2000*
S. savanicola Lourenço, 2009*
S. sudanensis Lourenço & Cloudsley-Thompson, 2009*
S. tassili Lourenço & Rossi, 2016*
S. touili Ythier & Francois, 2023*
S. trarasensis Bouisset & Larrouy, 1962
S. weidholzi Werner, 1929*
Srilankametrus Couzijn, 1981* (7)
S. caesar (C. L. Koch, 1841)*
S. couzijni Prendini & Loria, 2020*
S. gravimanus (Pocock, 1894)*
S. indus (DeGeer, 1778)*
S. pococki Prendini & Loria, 2020*
S. serratus (Pocock, 1900)*
S. yaleensis (Kovarik, Ranawana, Jayarathne, Hoferek & Stahlavsky, 2019)*
Urodacus Peters, 1861 (23)
U. armatus Pocock, 1888
U. butleri Volschenk, Harvey & Prendini, 2012*
U. carinatus Hirst, 1911
U. centralis L. E. Koch, 1977
U. elongatus L. E. Koch, 1977
U. excellens Pocock, 1888
U. giulianii L. E. Koch, 1977
U. hartmeyeri Kraepelin, 1908
U. hoplurus Pocock, 1898
U. koolanensis L. E. Koch, 1977
U. lowei L. E. Koch, 1977
U. lunatus Buzatto, Clark, Harvey & Volschenk, 2023*
U. macrurus Pocock, 1899
U. manicatus (Thorell, 1876)
U. mckenziei Volschenk, Smith & Harvey, 2000*
U. megamastigus L. E. Koch, 1977
U. novaehollandiae Peters, 1861
U. planimanus Pocock, 1893
U. similis L. E. Koch, 1977
U. spinatus Pocock, 1902
U. varians Glauert, 1963
U. uncinus Buzatto, Clark, Harvey & Volschenk, 2023*
U. yaschenkoi (Birula, 1903)

Jan Ove Rein (C) 2024