Wood  Scorpions  and  Allies  -  Superfamily:  Bothriuroidea
      Named in 1880 by the French arachnologist Eugene L. Simon, the Family: Bothriuridae is the only family contained within the Bothriuroidea.  The family contains, at the most recent count count, 166 species in 17 genera.   They occur predominantly in South America, however, two genera (three species) are found in Namibia and, here in Australia, there is one genus containing six endemic species plus one species discovered in the Himalayas in 1996.
      Wood Scorpions prefer to live in small burrows up to 40 cms deep, which they either build themselves or, they occupy deserted burrows build by other arthropods.  They also live in crevices or under rocks.  They have two narrow sternum plates rather than the more common pentagonally shaped single plate.  Usually they are a shade of reddish or orange-like brown, often with rows of lighter spots on the upper side of the body.
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     Two species are found on the eastern parts of Australia and may be encountered in the Northern Rivers region.   Both are similar in appearance and colour, dark reddish brown, but C. queenslandae is more spotted whereas C. squama has distinctly lighter coloured edges on the upper body plates.  Both species are small with most adults around the 25 to 30 mm in length. 

Family:  Bothriuridae

      Wood Scorpion - Cercophonius queenslandae     (likely occurrence)
      Forest Scorpion - Cercophonius squama
Taxonomy:
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Phylum:   Arthropoda   (Arthropods)
          > Subphylum:   Chelicerata   (Chelicerates)
                    > Class:   Arachnida   (Arachnids)  
                                        > Order:   Scorpiones   (Scorpions)
                                                  > Suborder:   Neoscorpionina
                                                            > Infraorder:   Orthosterni
                                                                 > Parvorder:   Iurida
                                                                      > Superfamily:   Bothriuroidea  (Woodscorpions and Allies)
                                                                                > Family:   Bothriuridae
                                                                                                              > Genus:   Cercophonius   (Australian Woodscorpions)
                                                                                                                        > Species:   C. queenslandae - Wood Scorpion *
                                                                                                                        > Species:   C. squama - Forest Scorpion
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*  =  likely
^  =  possibly
References  and  links:
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>      Lourenco, W.R.,  (l996).   ‘Can a Bothriurid scorpion be present in the Himalayas of India?’  Entomologische Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum, Hamburg, 12(154): 83-90.
>      Lowe, G.  and  Fet, V.,  (2000).   ‘Family Bothruridae Simon, 1880’   in:  Fet, V., Sissom, W.D., Lowe, G. and Braunwalder, M.E.,  (2000).  'Catalog of the Scorpions of the World (1758-1998).'  New York Entomological Society, 2000.

      https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/207967-Bothriuridae
      https://www.ntnu.no/ub/scorpion-files/bothriuridae.php

Text:
Erik Beringen.

Photographic Contributions:

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