What the sources say
Deathstalker ScorpionLeiurus quinquestriatus
Every figure, record and mechanism on the Deathstalker Scorpion profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 41 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
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan
Leiurus quinquestriatus. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.
- The page saysA desert scorpion about as long as a credit card
- The source says
Deathstalkers are large venomous scorpions measuring 80 to 110 mm in length
Note: Credit card (85.6 mm) is the writer's everyday comparison for 80 to 110 mm. - The page saysone of the most dangerous on Earth
- The source says
Because of their potent venom, deathstalkers are one of the most dangerous scorpions on Earth.
- The page sayswhose venom yielded chlorotoxin
- The source says
Chlorotoxin originally isolated from venom of deathstalkers is used in cancer research.
- The page saysa peptide used in cancer research
- The source says
Chlorotoxin originally isolated from venom of deathstalkers is used in cancer research.
- The page saysArid and hyper-arid desert of north-east Africa, from Algeria and Niger to Sudan and Somalia
- The source says
Members of the nominal subspeices L. quinquestriatus quinquestriatus are found in northeastern Africa as far west as Algeria and Niger, as far south as Sudan, and as far west as Somalia.
Note: stats.habitat drops ADW's 'and the Middle East': the 2014 Lowe revision elevated the Middle Eastern subspecies (L. q. hebraeus) to its own species, L. hebraeus, so only the nominal (African) subspecies range is claimed for L. quinquestriatus. The 'arid and hyper-arid desert' wording is the next claim, quoting ADW's Habitat section. - The page saysarid and hyper-arid desert
- The source says
Deathstalkers are found in arid and hyper-arid regions of North Africa and the Middle East.
- The page saysInsects, spiders, centipedes, earthworms, and other scorpions
- The source says
Scorpions, including deathstalkers, generally consume small insects, spiders, centipedes, earthworms, and other scorpions.
Note: stats.diet is a compact list field (site convention, e.g. mantis-shrimp.mdx's diet field), not a full sentence, so ADW's 'generally' qualifier is dropped the way every other profile's diet list drops its source's hedges. - The page saysNot Evaluated
- The source says
Deathstalkers have not been evaluated by the IUCN, US Fish and Wildlife Service, or CITES. ... IUCN Red List: Not Evaluated
Note: No Red List assessment exists (source pack: GBIF/Crossref search came up empty). ADW's own IUCN field confirms Not Evaluated. - The page saysa scorpion in the family Buthidae, yellowish in color with brown spots on its tail
- The source says
Family Buthidae ... Deathstalkers are large venomous scorpions measuring 80 to 110 mm in length and weigh 1.0 to 2.5 g. They are yellowish in color with brown spots on the metasomal segment V
Note: The metasoma is the tail; ADW places the spots on its segment V. - The page saysAn adult runs 80 to 110 millimeters long, about the length of a credit card or a little more, and weighs just 1 to 2.5 grams, about as much as a few paperclips
- The source says
Deathstalkers are large venomous scorpions measuring 80 to 110 mm in length and weigh 1.0 to 2.5 g.
Note: Credit card (85.6 mm) and 'a few paperclips' (about 0.5 g each) are the writer's everyday comparisons. - The page saysAnimal Diversity Web calls it one of the most dangerous scorpions on Earth because of its potent venom
- The source says
Because of their potent venom, deathstalkers are one of the most dangerous scorpions on Earth.
- The page saysIn north-east Africa it is recorded from Algeria and Niger to Sudan and Somalia
- The source says
Members of the nominal subspeices L. quinquestriatus quinquestriatus are found in northeastern Africa as far west as Algeria and Niger, as far south as Sudan, and as far west as Somalia.
Note: ADW (2012) gives this range for the nominal subspecies. Lowe et al. 2014 elevated the Middle Eastern subspecies (next claims), so only the African range is kept. - The page sayswhere it lives in arid and hyper-arid desert
- The source says
Deathstalkers are found in arid and hyper-arid regions of North Africa and the Middle East.
- The page saysIts Middle Eastern subspecies
- The source says
Members of the subspeices L. quinquestriatus hebraeus are found throughout the Middle East as far north as Turkey, east to Iran, and south to Oman and Yemen.
- The page saysDeathstalkers are nocturnal, a habit that helps them manage heat and water balance in dry habitats
- The source says
Deathstalkers are nocturnal, which helps manage temperature and water balance, important functions for survival in dry habitats.
- The page saysThey shelter under rocks, move into another animal's abandoned burrow, or dig one of their own, about 20 centimeters below a rock
- The source says
They generally reside under rocks or in abandoned burrows of other animals. They also create their own burrows about 20 cm below rocks.
- The page saysScorpions do not see well, and deathstalkers hunt by touch: tiny slit-shaped sensory organs near the tips of their legs pick up vibrations in the sand or soil, which help them judge the direction and distance of prey
- The source says
they do not have good vision. Scorpions, including deathstalkers, utilize their sense of touch to navigate and hunt, using their pectines and other organs. They have tiny slit-like tarsal sensory organs near the tips of their legs which help detect vibrations in the sand or soil. These organs can help provide information regarding the direction and distance from potential prey.
- The page saysThey generally eat small insects, spiders, centipedes, earthworms, and other scorpions, using their pincers to crush a catch and pull it toward the mouth
- The source says
Scorpions, including deathstalkers, generally consume small insects, spiders, centipedes, earthworms, and other scorpions. ... Once they capture prey, scorpions use their larger pincers to crush and draw prey toward the mouth.
Note: The pincer sentence is in the same Food Habits paragraph that opens 'Scorpions, including deathstalkers'. - The page saysChlorotoxin, a toxin originally isolated from deathstalker venom, is used in cancer research
- The source says
Chlorotoxin originally isolated from venom of deathstalkers is used in cancer research.
Note: ADW (2012) states the origin at species level; DeBin et al. 1993 (Am J Physiol, 10.1152/ajpcell.1993.264.2.c361), which purified it, names only 'Leiurus quinquestriatus' in its abstract, so which of today's Leiurus species supplied the venom is not settled by the sources on disk. - The page saysLittle is known about how deathstalkers breed, but a female gives birth to 35 to 87 live young
- The source says
Little is known about the specific reproductive behavior of deathstalkers. After a gestation period of 122 to 277 days (average 185), females give birth to 35 to 87 offspring (average 62.7). Key Reproductive Features sexual sexual fertilization fertilization external external viviparous
- The page saysDeathstalkers are themselves commonly eaten by members of their own species and by other scorpions, and centipedes and vertebrates prey on them too. Death rates are high right after birth
- The source says
Deathstalkers are commonly preyed upon members of their own speices and by other scorpions. Other invertebrate predators (e.g. centipedes) and vertebrates also prey on deathstalkers. They have high mortality directly after birth.
- The page saysIt reads the direction and distance of prey from vibrations picked up by slit-shaped sensory organs near the tips of its legs
- The source says
They have tiny slit-like tarsal sensory organs near the tips of their legs which help detect vibrations in the sand or soil. These organs can help provide information regarding the direction and distance from potential prey.
Note: vibe.reason, settled in #780: replaces the unsourced 130 cm/s strike figure - The page sayslike a hunter that works by touch
- The source says
Scorpions, including deathstalkers, utilize their sense of touch to navigate and hunt
Note: vibe.reason - The page saystags: nocturnal
- The source says
Deathstalkers are nocturnal, which helps manage temperature and water balance, important functions for survival in dry habitats.
Note: #780: tagMetadata 'foraging and hunting under darkness to avoid daytime heat'
Source
02
Lowe, Yağmur & Kovařík 2014
Lowe, Yağmur & Kovařík (2014). A review of the genus Leiurus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) with description of four new species from the Arabian Peninsula. Euscorpius.
- The page sayswas raised to a separate species, Leiurus hebraeus, in 2014
- The source says
L . quinquestriatus hebraeus (Birula, 1908) is elevated to species level as L . hebraeus (Birula, 1908) stat. n.
Note: 2014 is the paper's publication year (Euscorpius 191).
Source
03
Deshane, Garner & Sontheimer 2003
Deshane, Garner & Sontheimer (2003). Chlorotoxin Inhibits Glioma Cell Invasion via Matrix Metalloproteinase-2. Journal of Biological Chemistry.
- The page saysA venom peptide, chlorotoxin, that binds brain tumor cells
- The source says
Chlorotoxin is a scorpion toxin that specifically binds to the surface of glioma cells and impairs their ability to invade.
- The page saysIt binds to the surface of glioma cells, a type of brain tumor, and impairs their ability to invade nearby tissue
- The source says
Primary brain tumors (gliomas) have the unusual ability to diffusely infiltrate the normal brain thereby evading surgical treatment. Chlorotoxin is a scorpion toxin that specifically binds to the surface of glioma cells and impairs their ability to invade.
- The page saysResearchers traced that binding to a protein called matrix metalloproteinase-2, or MMP-2, which gliomas make more of than usual but the healthy brain does not normally make
- The source says
We isolated and identified the principal Cltx receptor on the surface of glioma cells as matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). MMP-2 is specifically up-regulated in gliomas and related cancers, but is not normally expressed in brain.
Note: 'make more of than usual' paraphrases 'up-regulated'. - The page saysGlioma cells are studded with a surface protein, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), that the healthy brain does not normally make, and chlorotoxin fits that protein almost like a key
- The source says
We isolated and identified the principal Cltx receptor on the surface of glioma cells as matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). MMP-2 is specifically up-regulated in gliomas and related cancers, but is not normally expressed in brain.
Note: 'studded with' and 'fits almost like a key' are metaphors for 'up-regulated' and 'principal receptor'. - The page saysLocking on also blocks the enzyme's work and lowers how much of it sits on the cell surface, and the researchers found those effects can explain how the toxin holds back the tumor cells' invasion of nearby tissue
- The source says
Importantly, we show that the anti-invasive effect of Cltx on glioma cells can be explained by its interactions with MMP-2. Cltx exerts a dual effect on MMP-2: it inhibits the enzymatic activity of MMP-2 and causes a reduction in the surface expression of MMP-2.
Source
04
Veiseh et al. 2007
Veiseh et al. (2007). Tumor Paint: A Chlorotoxin:Cy5.5 Bioconjugate for Intraoperative Visualization of Cancer Foci. Cancer Research.
- The page saysAttach a near-infrared fluorescent dye to chlorotoxin, and the probe marks tumors apart from the healthy tissue next to them
- The source says
we developed a chlorotoxin:Cy5.5 (CTX:Cy5.5) bioconjugate that emits near-IR fluorescent signal. The probe delineates malignant glioma, medulloblastoma, prostate cancer, intestinal cancer, and sarcoma from adjacent non-neoplastic tissue in mouse models.
Note: The lead-in 'paints its target' echoes the paper's own title, 'Tumor Paint'. - The page saysIn mouse experiments published in 2007, it outlined gliomas and four other kinds of cancer
- The source says
The probe delineates malignant glioma, medulloblastoma, prostate cancer, intestinal cancer, and sarcoma from adjacent non-neoplastic tissue in mouse models.
Note: 2007 is the paper's publication year. The four other kinds are medulloblastoma, prostate cancer, intestinal cancer and sarcoma. - The page saysin which a glowing marker helps surgeons tell tumor from healthy tissue
- The source says
Toward the goal of developing an optical imaging contrast agent that will enable surgeons to intraoperatively distinguish cancer foci from adjacent normal tissue
Source
05
Patil et al. 2019
Patil et al. (2019). Phase 1 Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Fluorescence Imaging Study of Tozuleristide (BLZ-100) in Adults With Newly Diagnosed or Recurrent Gliomas. Neurosurgery.
- The page saysbuilt into the dye tozuleristide, made gliomas glow in a trial published in 2019
- The source says
Tozuleristide (BLZ-100), a near-infrared imaging agent composed of the peptide chlorotoxin ... Fluorescence signal was detected in both high- and low-grade glial tumors
Note: 2019 is the paper's publication year. - The page saysIt is a peptide
- The source says
composed of the peptide chlorotoxin
- The page saystozuleristide, which pairs chlorotoxin with a near-infrared dye called indocyanine green
- The source says
Tozuleristide (BLZ-100), a near-infrared imaging agent composed of the peptide chlorotoxin and a near-infrared fluorophore indocyanine green, is a candidate molecule for FGS of glioma and other tumor types.
- The page saysIn a phase 1 trial, an early test of a drug's safety in people, 17 adults with suspected gliomas each received a single dose before surgery
- The source says
To perform a phase 1 dose-escalation study to characterize the safety, pharmacokinetics, and fluorescence imaging of tozuleristide in adults with suspected glioma. Methods Patients received a single intravenous dose of tozuleristide 3 to 29 h before surgery. Fluorescence images of tumor and cavity in Situ before and after resection and of excised tissue ex Vivo were acquired, along with safety and pharmacokinetic measures. Results A total of 17 subjects received doses between 3 and 30 mg.
- The page saysNo dose-limiting side effects were seen, no reported problems were blamed on the drug, and the tumors gave off a fluorescent signal
- The source says
No dose-limiting toxicity was observed, and no reported adverse events were considered related to tozuleristide. ... Fluorescence signal was detected in both high- and low-grade glial tumors
- The page saysThe researchers, publishing in 2019, concluded the dye may be useful for fluorescence-guided surgery
- The source says
suggest that tozuleristide imaging may be useful for FGS of gliomas.
Note: FGS is defined in the abstract's first line as fluorescence-guided surgery; 2019 is the publication year. - The page saysA trial published in 2019 gave 17 adults with suspected gliomas a single dose of the chlorotoxin dye tozuleristide, from 3 to 30 milligrams, between 3 and 29 hours before their operation
- The source says
in adults with suspected glioma. Methods Patients received a single intravenous dose of tozuleristide 3 to 29 h before surgery. ... A total of 17 subjects received doses between 3 and 30 mg.
Note: 2019 is the publication year. - The page saysNo dose caused a safety problem, and cameras picked up a fluorescent glow from the tumors themselves, generally brighter in the more aggressive, higher-grade cases
- The source says
No dose-limiting toxicity was observed, and no reported adverse events were considered related to tozuleristide. ... Fluorescence signal was detected in both high- and low-grade glial tumors, with high-grade tumors generally showing greater fluorescence intensity compared to lower grade tumors.
Note: 'cameras picked up' paraphrases 'Fluorescence images ... were acquired'; 'more aggressive' glosses 'high-grade'.
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.