World through biologist's eyes: July 2018

One of the most exciting moments that I had in Morocco were: visiting mysterious Marrakech, riding a camel and a trip to the Sahara Desert. One of typical animals that live in the dessert is a scorpion. Scorpions are animals that belong to Arthropoda (invertebrates) and are related e.g. to spiders, and feed on flies and cockroaches. At the Sahara Desert we (my husband and I) had a possibility to touch a scorpion; do not worry, it was not a poisonous scorpion! Although, there are more than 2,000 species of scorpions worldwide, it is estimated that only about 30 to 40 species contain a neurotoxin that can be deadly for humans. Since in Morocco deadly scorpion stings were reported, be extremely careful when you travel to this country! Some interesting facts about scorpions? Did you know that they are fluorescent? Scorpions glow in the dark due to the presence of a chemical called beta-carboline! 😉