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Liocheles australasiae

Tēkōpio

Bark Scorpion

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Bark Scorpion, Wood Scorpion

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tēkōpio (AK); COMMENT: Kauta = all Scorpions (Savage), Tekopio (RR)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE ? - se.Asia - Indonesia - Polynesia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group - uncommon; N.Group - uncommon; Land, coastal lowlands

KEY FEATURES: Main part of body to 15mm. A dark brown-black flattened scorpion with relatively thick forearms. The stinger is very small. Lives under bark and debris.

Enlarged Image of 'Liocheles australasiae'

Cook Islands Distribution

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Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
-			P		++

Northern Group: +
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-			++		++

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Liocheles australasiae (Fabricius)
SYNONYMS: Scorpio australasiae; Hormurus australasiae

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; CHELICERATA; ARACHNIDA; Scorpiones; HEMISCORPIIDAE. COMMENT: Formerly in family ISCHNURIDAE

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: It is interesting to note that this species is thought to reproduce by parthenogenesis (ie. females produce daughter offspring without fertilisation) which is rare among arachnids. According to Koch (1977), the ratio of males : females was 1:29, while in the studies of Makiota and Koike (1985), no males were found.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Aitutaki: fieldspecimen+photo, c.1984, G.McCormack with ID as Liocheles australasiae. Aitutaki: fieldspecimen+photo, 2000/11, G.McCormack with ID as Liocheles australasiae. Pukapuka: fieldspecimen+photo, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Liocheles australasiae. Suwarrow: fieldspecimen+photo, 1985, G.McCormack with ID as Liocheles australasiae.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM04a, zD04a

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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