But despite David Dimbleby waiting until he was 75, the presenter may already be filled with post-tattoo regret, after making a crucial mistake in the design.
Following close inspection, experts agree there appears to be one problem: the tattoo has a mere six legs and pincers instead of the eight it should possess as a member of the related arachnids. However there is some hope of a defence. Only one is a spider. A spider, Missulena occatoria Australia. A whipscorpion, Abaliella dicranotarsalis.
A scorpion, Charmus indicus India. A pseudoscorpion, Chelifer tuberculatus Algeria. A harvestman, Phalangium opilio worldwide. A solpugid, Ammotrechella cubae Cuba. Explore More Myths Previous Next. Scorpions hunt smaller animals for food, crushing them with their claws or poisoning them with a sting. Their thick armor plating and dangerous weapons keep them safe from most predators. Scorpions have needlelike stings at the ends of their tails.
The sting injects venom, which the scorpion uses to drive off predators, and to kill or paralyze its prey. Others forage for their prey, and some even dig pitfall traps in the sand for prey. Scorpions have such sensitive hairs on their pedipalps that they can even locate and snap up an insect in flight.
Once the prey is within reach, it is grabbed with the pincers and crushed. Most scorpions use their venomous sting only if needed, as it takes a lot of body energy to produce more venom. Younger and smaller scorpions may use their stinger more often than older and larger ones. Scorpions have a very tiny mouth and can only suck up liquid, so prey that is caught is mashed up and bathed in enzymes that dissolve the prey's insides, a process that may take up to an hour.
Scorpions don't eat every day like we do, and in drier habitats, they have been known to go without food for up to 12 months, as long as they have water. Usually, scorpions find a meal at least every two to three weeks and play an important role in their ecosystem by keeping insect populations low. Scorpions may have as many as 45 different toxins in their venom. Some toxins are more useful on insects, some on crustaceans, and some on vertebrates.
Scorpions use their venom to subdue their prey and for protection. Their predators include centipedes, shrews, owls, bats, hornbills, and coyotes. Some predators, like meerkats and mongooses, are immune or resistant to their venom. A scorpion's first sting is made up of different toxins than later stings. The first is usually strong enough to stun a vertebrate prey or predator; later stings are usually milder or used on invertebrates.
All scorpions have venom, but of the 1, or so species, only about 25 are considered life threatening to humans, and only 2 of those are found in the US. The sting of most scorpions is enough to kill an insect or spider but is merely painful to humans, like a bee sting.
Few stings are fatal, but allergic reactions can happen. A physician should treat scorpion stings to ensure the patient recovers safely. A male may leave his home territory to seek out a female by searching for her scent.
0コメント