Two new species of scorpions were discovered in Greece

Two new species of scorpions have now been added to the already 34 known in the country.

These new species are endemic and live exclusively on two Greek islands: Skyros and Andros.

The related discovery is considered particularly encouraging for scientists, as Professor Aris Parmakelis, president of the Department of Biology and member of the scientific team that has been studying the biodiversity of Greece for decades now, points out to APE-MPE: “The discovery of new species creates a sense of relief and engenders the optimistic view that we may finally have time to take action on the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity, as life in its ingenuity continues to resist our irrationality.”

In particular, the relevant publication was made by an international scientific team with the participation of scientists from the USA, Italy and Greece.

The two new species of scorpions belong to the genus Euscorpius of the family Euscorpiidae, one of the three families of scorpions that spread in Greece.

As it became known, the new species were named in honor of the scientists who collected the scorpions in Andros and Skyros. Euscorpius simaiakisi in honor of Ph.D. Mr. Simaiakis from the University of Crete and Euscorpius triantisi in honor of Senior Professor and Managing Director of OFYPEKA, Mr. Triantis.

As Prof. Parmakelis and Dr. Iasmi Stathis, researcher at the University of Crete and the Museum of Natural History of Crete, report to APE-MPE: “It is important to further strengthen biodiversity research through funding of national and European actions. In this way, the patterns of the spread of biodiversity in our country will be highlighted and it will be possible to plan management and development actions that will take into account both the climate crisis and the protection of biodiversity, which is a European and national obligation”.

Impressive, indeed according to the scientists, is the fact that research has revealed dozens of new species of scorpions in Greece in the last decade since ten years ago only eight species were known.

In Greece, scorpions belong to three families namely Buthidae (1 species), Euscorpiidae (28 species) and Iuridae (7 species).

According to the scientific team: Without any doubt, the human species affects the functioning of the Biosphere widely and rapidly, to such an extent that the introduction of a new geological period, the Anthropocene, is justified. The Anthropocene is characterized by an unprecedented rate of global extinctions and biological homogenization. During the 2nd half of the 20th century the rate of extinction of species reached unprecedented rates in the history of the Earth. Today the conservation and protection of biodiversity is a global environmental challenge.

Remember that all scorpions carry poison in their stings. Their venom is quite strong and their sting can cause from very mild symptoms, which disappear soon, to more serious ones such as tissue necrosis and severe allergic reactions, depending on the organism.

In Greece, although there are no scorpions that possess lethal venom, cases of extreme symptoms have been reported after stinging a scorpion. Therefore, since scorpions are wild animals, it is best to avoid them.

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