What the sources say
Arizona Bark ScorpionCentruroides sculpturatus
Every figure, record and mechanism on the Arizona Bark Scorpion profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 38 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.
Profile updated
Source
01
Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, University of Arizona
Scorpions. Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, University of Arizona.
- The page saysthe best climber among Arizona's thirty scorpion species
- The source says
Only one of the 30 species of scorpions found in Arizona is regarded as life-threatening: the bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus). ... It is also the best climber of the scorpion species.
Note: '30' worded as 'thirty' in prose. APDIC's climber sentence sits in a page about Arizona's 30 species, so the scope is read as Arizona's scorpions. - The page saysNot Evaluated
- The source says
the bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus)
Note: GBIF's copy of the Red List returns NOT_EVALUATED for Centruroides sculpturatus Ewing, 1928 (usage key 6894244, checked 2026-09-17). - The page saysScorpions shelter under debris, logs and bricks
- The source says
Clear away debris, trash, logs and bricks where scorpions like to live.
Note: APDIC's prevention-tips line about where scorpions live, which is scorpions in general, so the line says 'Scorpions'. - The page saysThe best climber among Arizona's scorpion species
- The source says
It is also the best climber of the scorpion species.
- The page saysIt reaches only an inch and a half at maturity, comparatively small for a scorpion
- The source says
Reaching only an inch and a half at maturity, it is a comparatively small scorpion.
- The page saysits more slender tail segments and pincers may set it apart from the state's less toxic species
- The source says
The bark scorpion may be distinguished from other less toxic species by its more slender tail segments and pincers.
Note: 'the state's' is Arizona, the page's subject; the source says 'other less toxic species', not that they are bulkier. - The page saysOf the thirty species of scorpions found in Arizona, the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center regards only this one as life-threatening
- The source says
Only one of the 30 species of scorpions found in Arizona is regarded as life-threatening: the bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus).
Note: '30' worded as 'thirty' in prose. Attributed to the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, whose page this is, and kept at its 'regarded as'. - The page sayscalls it the best climber of the scorpion species
- The source says
It is also the best climber of the scorpion species.
- The page saysA scorpion sting can cause immediate local pain with minimal swelling, and numbness and tingling that may travel across the body
- The source says
Scorpion stings can cause immediate local pain with minimal swelling. Numbness and tingling are frequently reported and may travel across the body.
Note: APDIC's symptom list covers scorpion stings generally, so the sentence says 'A scorpion sting' and keeps 'can' and 'may'. - The page saysSmall children are at the highest risk of severe reactions
- The source says
Small children are at the highest risk of severe reactions.
- The page saysScorpions are relatively inactive during daylight hours, and the majority of stings reported to the center occur at night during the warm summer months.
- The source says
Scorpions are relatively inactive during the daylight hours. The majority of stings reported to the poison center occur at night during the warm summer months.
Note: Scorpion-wide on APDIC's page, and worded at that scope.
Source
02
Hopp, Arvidson & Razak 2017
Hopp, Arvidson & Razak (2017). Arizona bark scorpion venom resistance in the pallid bat, Antrozous pallidus. PLOS ONE.
- The page saysNorth America's most venomous scorpion
- The source says
the Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus), North America's most venomous scorpion
Note: The paper asserts the rank flatly in its introduction, so the tagline carries the paper's own words at the paper's strength; the body and FAQ 1 attribute it to the researchers. - The page saysScorpion venom is a cocktail of toxins, and some of them switch on voltage-gated sodium channels, the microscopic gates nerve cells use to fire, causing intense pain
- The source says
Scorpion venom is a cocktail of toxins, some of which activate voltage-gated sodium ion channels, causing intense pain.
Note: The source's scope is scorpion venom generally, so the sentence says 'Scorpion venom', not 'bark scorpion venom'. 'the microscopic gates nerve cells use to fire' explains voltage-gated sodium channels. - The page saysResearchers who study it call the Arizona bark scorpion North America's most venomous scorpion.
- The source says
the Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus), North America's most venomous scorpion
Note: Attributed, with no causal link to the mechanism above it: the paper does not say the rank follows from the channel effect. - The page saysHigh-speed video of pallid bats hunting bark scorpions shows the scorpions stinging, sometimes multiple times, with none of the bats reacting during or after the encounter, and four of the five bats filmed consumed the scorpion at the end of it
- The source says
AZ bark scorpions stung pallid bats, sometimes multiple times, during a hunt. Five high-speed video recordings provided a clear view of the scorpion behavior during pallid bat attacks ... Bats 1, 3-5 consumed the scorpion at the end of the encounter, demonstrating that pallid bats eat Arizona bark scorpions. None of the bats reacted to stings during or after the encounter.
Note: Five recordings; bats 1 and 3 to 5 ate the scorpion, which is four of the five. Bat 2 abandoned the attack, so the page does not say every bat ate one. - The page saysDirect injection of venom at the mouse lethal dose, the concentration that kills half a group of mice, had no effect on bat behavior either, and at the highest dose tested three of four bats showed no effects
- The source says
direct injection of venom at mouse LD 50 concentrations (1.5 mg/kg) has no effect on bat behavior. At the highest concentration tested (10 mg/kg), three out of four bats showed no effects.
Note: 'the mouse lethal dose, the concentration that kills half a group of mice' glosses the paper's 'mouse LD 50 concentrations'; LD50 is by definition the dose lethal to half the animals tested. The three-of-four figure is kept at the highest dose tested, where the paper reports it, not at the mouse LD50. - The page saysResearchers who study its venom describe it as North America's most venomous scorpion. Scorpion venom is a cocktail of toxins, and some of them switch on voltage-gated sodium channels, the tiny gates nerve cells use to fire, which causes intense pain.
- The source says
Scorpion venom is a cocktail of toxins, some of which activate voltage-gated sodium ion channels, causing intense pain. ... the Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus), North America's most venomous scorpion
- The page saysResearchers found that the pallid bat is stung multiple times during a hunt without any noticeable effect on its behavior. Injecting venom at the mouse lethal dose had no effect on bat behavior either, and at the highest dose tested, three of four bats showed no effects.
- The source says
Our results show that the pallid bat is stung multiple times during a hunt without any noticeable effect on behavior. In addition, direct injection of venom at mouse LD 50 concentrations (1.5 mg/kg) has no effect on bat behavior. At the highest concentration tested (10 mg/kg), three out of four bats showed no effects.
Source
03
Rowe et al. 2013
Rowe et al. (2013). Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel in Grasshopper Mice Defends Against Bark Scorpion Toxin. Science.
- The page saysBark scorpion venom induces pain in many mammals, house mice, rats and humans among them, by switching on a nerve channel called Nav1.7, and it has no effect on a second channel, Nav1.8
- The source says
Bark scorpion venom induces pain in many mammals (house mice, rats, humans) by activating the voltage-gated Na(+) channel Nav1.7, but has no effect on Nav1.8.
Note: The abstract says 'bark scorpion venom' without a binomial, so the sentence keeps that scope. - The page saysGrasshopper mice carry a changed Nav1.8 that binds bark scorpion toxins and blocks the action potential, the electrical pulse a nerve passes along, turning the venom into a painkiller
- The source says
Grasshopper mice Nav1.8 has amino acid variants that bind bark scorpion toxins and inhibit Na(+) currents, blocking action potential propagation and inducing analgesia.
Note: 'grasshopper mice', not 'southern grasshopper mice': the abstract names no species. No 'first' either, since the abstract states no order of binding. 'the electrical pulse a nerve passes along' explains the source's 'action potential propagation'. - The page saysThey regularly attack and consume bark scorpions, grooming only briefly when stung
- The source says
grasshopper mice regularly attack and consume bark scorpions, grooming only briefly when stung
- The page saysBark scorpion venom induces pain in many mammals, house mice, rats and humans among them, by switching on a nerve channel called Nav1.7, and it has no effect on a second channel, Nav1.8. Grasshopper mice carry a changed Nav1.8 that binds bark scorpion toxins and blocks the action potential, the electrical pulse a nerve passes along, turning the venom into a painkiller. They regularly attack and consume bark scorpions, grooming only briefly when stung.
- The source says
grasshopper mice regularly attack and consume bark scorpions, grooming only briefly when stung. Bark scorpion venom induces pain in many mammals (house mice, rats, humans) by activating the voltage-gated Na(+) channel Nav1.7, but has no effect on Nav1.8. Grasshopper mice Nav1.8 has amino acid variants that bind bark scorpion toxins and inhibit Na(+) currents, blocking action potential propagation and inducing analgesia.
Source
04
Cahalan 1975
Cahalan (1975). Modification of sodium channel gating in frog myelinated nerve fibres by Centruroides sculpturatus scorpion venom. The Journal of Physiology.
- The page saysIn an experiment on single frog nerve fibres, published in 1975, the venom brought about repetitive firing, some of it spontaneous, and eventually left the fibre's membrane unable to fire
- The source says
The effect of Centruroides sculpturatus scorpion venom on single frog myelinated nerve fibres was studied. ... Centruroides venom brings about repetitive firing ... Spontaneous firing was also observed. Eventually the nodal membrane becomes inexcitable following venom treatment.
Note: The sentence keeps the study's subject (single frog myelinated nerve fibres) and its date; '1975' is the reference's publication year, which the abstract text does not restate. Nothing here is carried over to what the venom does in people.
Source
05
Curry et al. 1983
Curry et al. (1983). Envenomation by the Scorpion Centruroides Sculpturatus. Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology.
- The page saysvenom that drives nerve axons into prolonged and excessive firing
- The source says
Envenomation by the scorpion C. sculpturatus can be life threatening. The action of the venom is to produce prolonged and excessive firing of neuronal axons
- The page saysA review of 670 patients stung in central Arizona in 1982 described the action of this species' venom as prolonged and excessive firing of neuronal axons
- The source says
Envenomation by the scorpion C. sculpturatus can be life threatening. The action of the venom is to produce prolonged and excessive firing of neuronal axons which results in a wide variety of signs and symptoms. Records of 670 patients suffering from scorpion stings in central Arizona in 1982 were reviewed to characterize the clinical course of these patients.
Note: The 1983 paper reviews 1982 records, so the sentence dates it. 'the long fibres that carry a nerve cell's signal' explains 'axons'. - The page saysa scorpion whose venom drives nerve axons into prolonged and excessive firing
- The source says
The action of the venom is to produce prolonged and excessive firing of neuronal axons
Note: vibe.reason
Source
06
Boyer et al. 2009
Boyer et al. (2009). Antivenom for Critically Ill Children with Neurotoxicity from Scorpion Stings. New England Journal of Medicine.
- The page saysIn a randomized trial of fifteen children admitted to intensive care, all eight who received that antivenom had their symptoms resolve within four hours, against one of the seven who received a placebo
- The source says
In a randomized, double-blind study, the efficacy of scorpion-specific F(ab')(2) antivenom, as compared with placebo, was assessed in 15 children 6 months to 18 years of age who were admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit with clinically significant signs of scorpion envenomation. ... resolution of symptoms in all eight antivenom recipients versus one of seven placebo recipients within 4 hours after treatment
- The page saysYes, a scorpion-specific antivenom. In a randomized trial of fifteen children admitted to intensive care, all eight who received the antivenom had their symptoms resolve within four hours, against one of the seven who received a placebo.
- The source says
In a randomized, double-blind study, the efficacy of scorpion-specific F(ab')(2) antivenom, as compared with placebo, was assessed in 15 children 6 months to 18 years of age who were admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit with clinically significant signs of scorpion envenomation. ... resolution of symptoms in all eight antivenom recipients versus one of seven placebo recipients within 4 hours after treatment
Source
07
Webber & Bryson 2015
Webber & Bryson (2015). Geographic variation in the thermal biology of a widespread Sonoran Desert arachnid, Centruroides sculpturatus (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Journal of Arid Environments.
- The page saysWidely distributed across the Sonoran Desert, from low, dry sites in western Arizona to cooler mountains in the east
- The source says
We tested whether geographic variation in preferred body temperatures existed for the Arizona bark scorpion Centruroides sculpturatus, an arachnid widely distributed across the Sonoran Desert. We predicted that geographic variation in thermal preference would exist between populations from a xeric, low-elevation site in western Arizona (Quartzsite) and a cooler, high-elevation site in eastern Arizona (Pinaleño Mountains).
Note: stats.habitat; 'xeric, low-elevation' worded as 'low, dry'; the two sites are the study's, so 'from ... to' spans the sampled range - The page saystags: desert
- The source says
the Arizona bark scorpion Centruroides sculpturatus, an arachnid widely distributed across the Sonoran Desert
Source
08
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf 2023
Scorpion Toxicity. StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf, 2023.
- The page saysThe venom of some scorpion species leaves a nerve cell's sodium gates incompletely closed
- The source says
The venom of some species can cause prolonged depolarization by causing incomplete inactivation of sodium channels, resulting in a slow influx of sodium.
Note: StatPearls is genus-wide and uses the older name C. exilicauda, and this line says 'some species', so the blockquote keeps that scope and hedge. - The page saysA slow influx of sodium follows, and the axon fires without regulation
- The source says
resulting in a slow influx of sodium. This influx then leads to membrane hyperexcitability and unregulated axon firing
- The page saysA 2023 clinical review
- The source says
Last Update: August 8, 2023
Note: The page's own date, which is what makes it the current source for the lines that follow. - The page saysreports that adults are stung more often than children, that children more often develop severe illness
- The source says
Adults do become envenomed more often than children; however, children do exhibit more severe illness as a consequence more often than adults.
Note: The current 2023 review is cited for this rather than Curry 1983's 1982 records, which report the same pattern. - The page saysa scorpion-specific antivenom is available in the United States
- The source says
Antivenom is reserved for patients showing skeletal muscle or cranial nerve dysfunction who are stung by either Centruroides or Parabuthus. ... It is available in the United States, which is intravenous scorpion-specific F(ab')2 equine antivenom.
Note: Stated as what the review reports exists, with no advice on when or how it is used. The same page records that the antivenom marketed in 1965 was withdrawn in 2001, which is why the 1983 paper's antivenom is not described as current. - The page saysThe same review records no reported deaths from scorpion stings in Arizona since 1968.
- The source says
There have been no reported deaths from scorpion envenomation in Arizona since 1968.
Note: 'stings' for the source's 'envenomation'. 'no reported deaths' keeps the source's qualifier, and the review is dated in the sentence before it (Last Update: August 8, 2023). StatPearls is Arizona-wide and uses the older name C. exilicauda, so the sentence is not worded as a claim about this species alone.
Source
09
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
Scorpion. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
- The page saysScorpions may take an insect, a spider, or even a small mouse or lizard, grabbed with the pincers and crushed
- The source says
Scorpions use different ways to get a meal, which may be an insect, spider, or even a small mouse or lizard. ... Once the prey is within reach, it is grabbed with the pincers and crushed.
Note: San Diego Zoo's page is order-wide (all scorpions), so the line is worded at that scope ('Scorpions may take'), never as this species' diet. No source in the pack states a diet for C. sculpturatus. - The page saysthose that do not burrow may climb trees or hide under bark or leaf litter
- The source says
Scorpions that do not burrow may climb trees or hide under bark or leaf litter for shelter.
Note: Order-wide page, so the clause is worded at that scope with the source's 'may'.
How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.