Avoid being killed and eaten is one of the central tasks for most animals. There is a host of anti-predator strategies around and one popular strategy is to mimic the look and/or the behavior of another dangerous animal (Batesian mimicry).
Scorpions can be classified as a dangerous animal because of the venomous sting. They are also very characteristic with their tail with a stinger clearly displayed above the body. So it is not surprising that other animals may try to mimick scorpions in appearance and behavior to scare off potential predator. E. g., this can be seen in many stick insects where they curve the posterior part of their body above the rest of the body mimicking a scorpion's tail.
Matheus Feitosa and co-workers have recently published an article describing scorpion mimicry in the sphaerodactylid gecko Coleodactylus meridionalis (Boulenger, 1888) from Brazil, that share their habitat with Tityus pusillus Pocock, 1893 (Buthidae).
Abstract:
No abstract.
Reference:
Feitosa MLB, da Silva Júnior AO, da Justa Ximenes RE, Lins AHA, Moura GJ, de Araújo Lira AF. Scorpion mimicry behavior in Coleodactylus meridionalis (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae) in the northeastern Atlantic forest. Herpetology Notes. 2022;15:829-31. [Open Access]
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