Centruroides alayoni

Centruroides alayoni is a species of scorpion in the family Buthidae.[1] It briefly played an interesting role in the crisis in Iran in the early 1980's.

Centruroides alayoni
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Arachnida
Order:
Scorpiones
Family:
Buthidae
Genus:
Centruroides
Species:
C. alayoni
Binomial name
Centruroides alayoni
(Armas, 1999)

Description

Centruroides alayoni is a moderate-sized scorpion, with a typical length of 7 centimetres (2.8 in). It is distributed in northern Iran. Its sandy dull brown colour matches the surrounding environment, giving it camouflage protection. Its pedipalps are small relative to its size, indicating that it instead uses its stinger to subdue its prey. It has a potent venom, capable of killing a dog in a single sting, if not a human.

Attempt at farming

In 1982, Iran was suffering serious financial losses as a result of the ongoing Iran-Iraq War. A desperate scheme was thought up by businessman Mohammed Amehi, in which Centruroides alayoni would be farmed for its highly-valuable venom, which would then be sold in barrels to Allied Egypt, which was economically in better condition. Amehi began his first attempt at farming the scorpion in May 1983, backed by government funding. From June 1983 - October 1983, the farm produced 0.4 litres (0.11 US gal) of scorpion venom, which, although being worth about $4.2 million US, was a disastrous yield, barely covering the expenses of the venture. Further trouble struck when Amehi was accidentally stung while visiting the farm; he become violently ill, and was resting when a young worker was asked to retrieve the antivenom. Instead, the worker took a bottle of farmed venom and assisted the injection of it into Amehi. Amehi died shortly after, and the project fell apart in disaster. Some historians claim that the actions of the "worker" were deliberate, and that he was an Iraqi spy under homeland government orders to put a stop to the project. Whether Amehi's death was an accident or not is unknown to this day.

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References
  1. "Centruroides alayoni". ZipcodeZoo.com. 4 August 2012. Archived from the original on 8 August 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.


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