Giant scorpion population shoots up in Australia

Populations of giant scorpions reaching up to 9cm have shot up in the Victoria and other Australian regions, the researchers at La Trobe University found in their search.

The researchers wear UV-proof glasses to spot scorpions glowing in the dark

A population of giant scorpions reaching up to 9cm is exploding in regional Victoria.

La Trobe University researchers discovered hundreds of dens and burrows while combing through the Mallee region of Victoria.

Ecologist Heloise Gibb said researchers were surprised at the “size and density of the scorpions they spotted” while probing the area at night.

‘They are definitely big in size, up to 9cm in length’ Dr Gibb told the media.

‘They are not a new species,” she said, adding however that “we’ve just found that they’re bigger and there’s a lot of them with a really high density in the area.

The giant scorpions, in soaring numbers, were found by researchers who used UV-proof glasses and torches, as the scorpions glow with fluorescent light in the dark.

“They glow in white, blue and green and are very bright,” Dr Gibb said. “It makes them really easy to find.”

Dr Gibb said 600 scorpion burrows per hectare were discovered in parts of the region, with the species packing a powerful sting.

“The sting,” Dr Gibb said, “is not lethal but it’s painful”. “They can be quite aggressive too.”

She added that sometimes we have to pick them up to do measurements “so we use padded tongs to pick them up by their tail”.

“When they know you’re there, they have their offensive tail standing right up and ready to get you if they want to.”

Dr Gibb said the scorpions are quite widespread across the Australian regions in semi barren and barren areas as they like sandy places