E. concolor
         L. collurio
         M. striata
         S. torquata
         T. onustus
         M. gibbosus

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Unless otherwise noted, all pictures on this site were taken in Pelion, Greece, shown on the map below.

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View images of the Common Toad, an ugly, bulky, but really sweet creature with an interesting... nightlife.

  Veggie of the Month

Learn about the Salsify, a beautiful plant, with edible and medicinal properties, that is currently blooming in Pelion.

  Cool Destination

Visit Mourtias, one of Pelion's most picturesque beaches on the Aegean coast.

  Exciting Site

Tour the Volos Archaeological Museum, a pretty century-old building, whose exhibits span a historical period of over 10 millennia!

  Month's Wallpaper

Download a fantastic picture of a rickety jetty in Lefokastron, Pelion, taken by Huw Jones.

Loading image. Please wait Yellow Scorpion (Mesobuthus gibbosus) :: 2002/09/09 :: Pagania, Argalasti :: © A.Papadopoulos Yellow Scorpion (Mesobuthus gibbosus) :: 2002/09/09 :: Pagania, Argalasti :: © A.Papadopoulos No image! No image! No image!

Yellow Scorpion

Mesobuthus gibbosus

This yellow to yellow brown scorpion, which can reach an overall length of 67-75mm (2.5-3"), can be found in many parts of Europe. It has been reported in Albania, Greece (including many of the Greek islands), F.Y.R.O.M., Yugoslavia, Turkey (except north), Cyprus, Syria, and Lebanon.

M. gibbosus can be found in various habitats. Jan Ove Rein, Medical Library & Information Center, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, whose article has provided most of the information on this page, states that he has collected it in dry and hot wasteland without any vegetation, both in mountain areas and on the beach, only meters away from the sea. In addition, some papers report of collecting sites located in forests.

In the Pelion region, I have seen quite a few specimens in an olive grove, which is located in Pagania, halfway between Horton and Argalasti. They are usually found under stones, on the eastern slope of the plot, which is quite steep and, as a consequence, remains unplowed.

Even though this species has a very rural distribution, it may, on occasion, accidentally enter houses and other buildings.

Very little data are available on the medical significance of M. gibbosus. According to Jan Ove Rein, the sting is very painful, but does not cause serious systemic effects. Like B. occitanus and M. cyprius, M. gibbouss is probably not dangerous for healthy humans.

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Fact Sheet

Food
Insects.

Active
Unknown with certainty. It is predominantly a nocturnal predator and, as a result, I have never seen it in action. However, I presume it hibernates from September till May, inasmuch as the specimens I have seen between these months were quite docile and seemed to be out of touch with their surroundings.

Habitat
Dry and hot wasteland without any vegetation, both in mountain areas and on the beach. Can also be found in olive groves and, quite likely, in forests

Distribution
Albania, Greece (including many of the Greek islands), F.Y.R.O.M., Yugoslavia, Turkey (except north), Cyprus, Syria, and Lebanon.


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Taxonomy


Superkingdom: Eukaryota; Kingdom: Metazoa; Phylum: Arthropoda; Subphylum: Chelicerata; Class: Arachnida; Order: Scorpiones; Superfamily: Buthoidea; Family: Buthidae; Genus: Mesobuthus; Species: gibbosus.


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Acknowledgments


The information on this page was obtained from a fantastic article, entiled "European Scorpions - A Review of the Scorpion Fauna of Europe", by Jan Ove Rein, Medical Library & Information Center, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

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