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Parthenogenesis, a rare phenomenon in Chelicerates, apart from mites, is reviewed in scorpions, notably Tityus serrulatus Lutz & Mello from Brazil, Tityus columbianus (Thorell) from Colombia and Tityus metuendus Pocock from Peru and Brazil. Thelytokous parthenogenesis (with all-female broods) is most often observed. The only known exception to this...
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Brazil is a country with a large territorial extension (approximately 8.5 million kilometers squared), which is composed of 26 states and a Federal District. The scorpion fauna of Brazil is also quite vast, highlighting the Tityus genus. The species that is considered the most dangerous and that is accounted for the highest number of accidents is T...
Parthenogenesis is rare in chelicerates with the exception of mites. In scorpions this form of asexual reproduction has been observed in some species of the families Buthidae and Liochelidae. In the present paper, parthenogenesis is reported in a species of scorpion inhabiting the Cape Verde islands and recently described as Hottentotta caboverdens...
Citations
... A espécie Tityus serrulatus, quando descrita, teve como local de coleta a cidade de Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil (LUTZ;. A sua região de origem foi em uma área restrita de Minas Gerais onde ocupava áreas de savana ou copas de palmeiras, relacionada com populações da espécie onde se descobriu a presença de machos e a reprodução sexuada (LOURENÇO; CLOUDSLEY-THOMPSON, 1999;LOURENÇO, 2008). ...
... Já se evoluir para um estado considerado grave, vômitos, sudorese, sensação de frio, pele arrepiada, palidez, agitação psicomotora acentuada, podendo estar alternada com sonolência, hipotermia, tremores, espasmos musculares ou aumento anormal do tônus muscular entre outras manifestações clínicas como arritmias cardíacas, hipotensão ou hipertensão, insuficiência cardíaca até o choque cardiogênico e reações no sistema respiratório como edema pulmonar CUPO et al., 2003). Apesar de já terem sido encontradas populações com ambos os sexos restritas a região ao norte de Minas Gerais, hoje sua irradiação para novos ambientes é ocasionada pela partenogênese (LOURENÇO, 2008). Esta condição, não é particular da espécie T. serrulatus, mas também ocorre entre outros escorpiões. ...
... Esta condição, não é particular da espécie T. serrulatus, mas também ocorre entre outros escorpiões. Este fenômeno permite que fêmeas produzam novos descendentes sem a necessidade de acasalar e trocar material genético com um membro do sexo oposto (POLIS, 1990;LOURENÇO, 2008). Esta estratégia permite aos espécimes uma vantagem na colonização de ambientes em relação à estratégia sexuada, já que um organismo pode formar uma população quando transportado para uma nova área geográfica (ROSS, 2010). ...
... Sexual maturity occurs after the first year. The interesting thing is that some species perform parthenogenesis [8][9][10]. ...
... Scorpions only feed on live prey. Thus, the function of the venom is to immobilize the prey and be able to hold it with the pincers and start the meal [9][10][11]. ...
... Sexual maturity occurs after the first year. The interesting thing is that some species perform parthenogenesis [8][9][10]. ...
... Scorpions only feed on live prey. Thus, the function of the venom is to immobilize the prey and be able to hold it with the pincers and start the meal [9][10][11]. ...
... Sexual maturity occurs after the first year. The interesting thing is that some species perform parthenogenesis [8][9][10]. ...
... Scorpions only feed on live prey. Thus, the function of the venom is to immobilize the prey and be able to hold it with the pincers and start the meal [9][10][11]. ...
... Sexual maturity occurs after the first year. The interesting thing is that some species perform parthenogenesis [8][9][10]. ...
... Scorpions only feed on live prey. Thus, the function of the venom is to immobilize the prey and be able to hold it with the pincers and start the meal [9][10][11]. ...
... Their long evolutionary path has allowed a complex selection of toxins with very high affinity for the excitable cells of the human body (Casewell et al., 2013;Inceoglu et al., 2003;Zhang et al., 2016). Pathogenetic species of scorpions are opportunistic and generalists, showing high resistance to the rapid and profound environmental changes promoted by man, occupying with high efficiency several artificial microhabitats in rural, peri-urban and urban environments (Lourenço, 2008;Souza et al., 2012). The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes scorpion stings as a global medical-sanitary problem in many tropical and subtropical countries (Chippaux & Goyffon, 2008). ...
Scorpionism, or a clinical picture of envenomation caused by a scorpion sting, is a public health problem in South America. The manifestations clinical and management are varied and complex and there is still no consensus in the literature on these aspects. The aim of this systematic review is to describe the clinical manifestations, as well as treatment after scorpion envenomation by Tityus species. The online databases of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and SciELO were systematically searched for relevant publications until march 2022. No language and age restrictions were imposed. The literature search generated 476 references and 23 studies were included in the systematic review, according to the inclusion criteria of this review. The number of participants studied was 7,781. The specie Tityus serrulatus was found in more studies. The time elapsed between the accident and medical care ranged from 15 minutes to more than 6 hours. The treatments performed in selected studies include scorpion antivenoms, corticosteroids, anesthetics, antiemetics agents, inotropics, antihypertensives and benzodiazepines drugs. In six studies, fatal cases were observed in five children aged 1 to 6-y and one in children < 14 y. We concluded that management of Tityus species envenoming is supportive and focused on the patient’s symptoms. In severe cases, antivenoms, if available, are indicated. Medications to monitor vagal and adrenergic symptoms are encouraged. This study has the potential to help professionals who deal with envenomations caused by the genus Tityus.
... In a series of previous publications addressed to the readers of the Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (JVATiTD), I attempted to bring general information about scorpions and scorpionism, but also on models of reproduction and in particular parthenogenesis [1,2,3]. Even some notions about how to proceed with systematics and taxonomy were the subject of one article [4]. ...
Abstract This synoptic review aims to bring some general information on fossil scorpions, namely those trapped in amber - fossilized resin - ranging from Lower Cretaceous through the Palaeocene and up to the Miocene. The question to be addressed is how the study of these fossils can be connected with possible present scorpionism problems. A precise knowledge of these ancient lineages provides information about the evolution of extant lineages, including the buthoids, which contain most known noxious species. Among the Arthropods found trapped in amber, scorpions are considered rare. A limited number of elements have been described from the Late Tertiary Dominican and Mexican amber, while the most ancient Tertiary amber from the Baltic region produced more consistent results in the last 30 years, primarily focusing on a single limited lineage. Contrarily, the Cretaceous amber from Myanmar, also called Burmite, has yielded and continues to yield a significant number of results represented by several distinct lineages, which attest to the considerable degree of diversity that existed in the Burmese amber-producing forests. As in my previous similar contributions to this journal, the content of this note is primarily addressed to non-specialists whose research embraces scorpions in various fields such as venom toxins and public health. An overview knowledge of at least some fossil lineages can eventually help to clarify why some extant elements associated with the buthoids represent dangerous species while others are not noxious.
... One of the first steps in planning the production of a specific serum is the proven medical relevance of the animal species, followed by an established methodology for creation and programmed extraction of venoms (Batista et al., , 2018. The main scorpion species for serum production is T. serrulatus, which is relatively easy to keep in captivity (Lourenço, 2002), in part due to this animal's potential to live in an anthropic environment and reproduction facilitated by parthenogenesis (Lourenço, 2008). ...
... Venom extracted from scorpions serves as an antigen that is inoculated in horses for antibody production (Salazar et al., 2022). Studies on reproductive aspects of Amazonian scorpions are rare (Lourenço, 2008), and most broods born in the laboratory are from females that came pregnant from the forest (Outeda-Jorge et al., 2009). In addition, an adequate way to keep these animals in artificial environments in the short and long term is not known (Martins et al., 2021). ...
... Although animal venom has geographical features (Calvete, 2017), it is important to verify the relationship between the regional symptoms caused by T. obscurus and the different median lethal doses (LD 50 ) detected in the venoms of their populations (Fig. 4). When compared to other scorpion species that are better known through scientific studies, such as T. serrulatus and T. bahiensis (Lourenço, 2008), the venom of T. obscurus has not yet been widely characterized (Gomes et al., 2020;Cupo, 2015;Wen et al., 2015). There are few proteomic studies to elucidate the diversity of toxins in this venom (Martins et al., 2021) and their effects on the immune system (Torrez et al., 2015). ...
Tityus obscurus has caused mild, moderate and severe accidents of medical relevance in the eastern Brazilian Amazon and French Guiana. Tityus obscurus has sexual dimorphism although males and females have uniform black coloration. In the Amazon, one of the habitats of this scorpion is seasonally flooded forests (igapós and várzeas). However, most stings occur in terra firme forest areas (non-flooded region), where most rural communities are located. Adults and children stung by T. obscurus may experience an “electric shock” sensation for more than 30 h after the sting. Our data shows that people inhabiting remote forest areas, including rubber tappers, fishermen and indigenous people, with no access to anti-scorpion serum, use parts of native plants, such as seeds and leaves, against pain and vomiting caused by scorpion stings. Although there is a technical effort to produce and distribute antivenoms in the Amazon, many cases of scorpion stings are geographically unpredictable in this region, due to the lack of detailed knowledge of the natural distribution of these animals. In this manuscript, we compile information on the natural history of T. obscurus and the impact of its envenoming on human health. We identify the natural sites that host this scorpion in the Amazon, in order to warn about the risk of human envenoming. The use of specific antivenom serum is the recommended treatment for accidents involving venomous animals. However, atypical symptoms not neutralized by the available commercial antivenom are reported in the Amazon region. Facing this scenario, we present some challenges to the study of venomous animals in the Amazon rainforest and possible experimental bottlenecks and perspectives for establishing a method aimed at producing an efficient antivenom.
... This species' geographic distribution was previously restricted to Minas Gerais state (Southeast region), but due its easy adaptation to urban environments and its proliferation potential, T. serrulatus has expanded considerably over the Southeast, Northeast, South, and Central regions of Brazil, and its occurrence has been recorded in at least 19 of the 27 Brazilian states [4,[72][73][74][75][76]. T. serrulatus has been also spotted in other countries like Ecuador and Argentina [77], where even a human accident occurred [78]. Its ability to reproduce by parthenogenesis is one of the factors that seems to contribute the most to T. serrulatus rapid proliferation and wide distribution [79]. A single specimen transported to a new location, finding the right conditions, can readily reproduce and develop a new colony [17]. ...
... Like T. serrulatus, T. stigmurus is predominantly parthenogenetic, with few recorded sexual populations [79,91]. T. stigmurus also present a yellowish body color and may have a superimposed occurrence in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes with T. serrulatus, which makes it difficult to estimate the real contribution of each species to the epidemic scenario in some parts of the Northeast region, as both species are synanthropic and well adapted to urban centers [43,60,92]. ...
Opportunistic scorpion species can colonize urban environments, establishing high-density communities that enhance the chances of human accidents. This scenario has been taking place in Brazil, in which some Tityus species have taken city centers, causing an explosion in the number of scorpion envenoming cases. The characteristics of this scorpionism epidemic in Brazil is discussed in the present work. The number of Brazilian scorpion stings has surpassed 120,000 cases in 2017, and has been maintained above this number ever since, representing a more than 3-fold increase in 10 years, which was higher than the number of cases for most of the neglected tropical diseases in the country. The escalation in scorpionism cases is even higher in some regions of Brazil. Fortunately, the proportion of mild cases has also increased in the analyzed period, as well as the number of victims seeking for medical attention within the first hour after the accident. The species Tityus serrulatus, Tityus stigmurus, Tityus bahiensis, and Tityus obscurus are traditionally accountable for most of the scorpion accidents in different regions of Brazil, but other species deserve to be closely watched. Despite scorpionism being a notable health problem in Brazil, accident prevention and pest control regarding this venomous animal have not been properly addressed by the scientific community nor by policy makers. Therefore, this review also aims to point possible fields of research that could help to contain the aggravation of the current scorpionism landscape in Brazil.
... A single female can have an average of two births per year, with an average of 18-25 young scorpions per gestation, which makes control work difficult. The species originally lived in transition forest, dry forest, savanna, and caatinga environments, a restricted area in the state of Minas Gerais 6,7 . Currently, this species lives in habitats with minimal vegetation, being an endemic species in Brazil, and proliferates widely in states such as Bahia, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, and Goiás, covering the northeast, midwest, and southeast regions of Brazil 2 . ...
Background:
Scorpions are a leading cause of envenomation in Brazil. The species Tityus serrulatus is associated with the most severe cases, especially in children. Despite not being endemic to the state of Santa Catarina, such occurrences have increased more than 500% in the state recently. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the occurrence of envenomation by T. serrulatus, attended by the Center for Toxicological Information and Assistance of Santa Catarina.
Methods:
This was a retrospective and descriptive study of the occurrence of T. serrulatus, identified by the agency, from 2014 to 2021 in Santa Catarina, using data obtained by the BI-DATATOX system.
Results:
A total of 112 occurrences were classified as envenomation. Of these cases, 48.2% were recorded in the Itajaí Valley region and 33% in Greater Florianópolis. Men were involved in 59.8% of these, and the most common age group was 20-39 years (39.3%). Most envenomation occurred in urban areas (89.3%) under non-occupational circumstances (83%). Stings were more frequent on the hands (50.9%). Care was sought within 1 h after the event in 75.9% of the cases, and 94.6% were classified as mild.
Conclusions:
Occurrence of envenomation involving T. serrulatus in Santa Catarina increased significantly during the study period. Most cases occurred in urbanized areas, which suggests that they might have been transported from other states, and it must be considered that, in the urban environment, scorpions find a large supply of food and shelter and a reduced number of specific predators, allied to parthenogenesis.
