al-Mawt Scorpion

Despite their deadly venom, al-mawt scorpions are very small. They have eight legs, a hard chitinous carapace and it's body is split into two main parts, the cephalothorax (fused head and thorax) and the opisthosoma (abdomen). Most of its sensory organs, legs and its pincers attach to its cephalothorax while its tail is connected to its opisthosoma. Meanwhile its stinger is found at the end of its tail, fed its infamous toxins by the venom bulb just below. A scorpion's mouthparts are called chelicerae, sharp and claw like. These pull apart the flesh of its victims, bit by tiny bit.

Al-mawt are among the most venomous scorpions of their kind, producing powerful neurotoxins and a lethal radioactive sting. Anti-venoms aren't very effective agains this toxin but even those fortunate enough to survive are in for a terrible experience! Their venom is a mix of the neurotoxins chlorotoxin, charybdotoxin, scyllatoxin and two agitoxins and a compoumd called Lq2. Because of its complexity, effects are wide ranging and unpleasant. The sting itself is extremely painful and symptoms set in quickly. These mainly affect the heart, lungs and digestion. Yet what a victim will undoubtably notice the most is the full paralysis of their body! This is because Lq2 causes all of a victim's muscles to contract! Lq2 blocks chloride channels in muscles which is how our body signals muscles to relax. Victims are totally unable to untense their muscles, continuously frozen but fully conscious. Death usually occurs from fluid in the lungs or heart failure but worst of all, all of this occurs alongside radiation poisoning which causes much longer lasting symptoms!

Because a large dose of radiation is injected directly into the victim's blood stream, radiation poisoning or ARS (acute radiation sickness) is quick to set in. These symptoms are less predictable than the venom, some starting immediately while others are belated. Intense nausea, fatigue and headaches are among the earliest symptoms but because radiation degrades the cells of a victom, damaging their DNA itself, cells which divide most rapidly are affected first. Most victims die from infection but internal bleeding, dehydration and confusion continue to develop long after the initial sting. Gastrointestinal and neurovascular radiation poisoning occur the fastest, the latter affecting bone marrow. If a victim manages to survive the initial sting and radiation poisoning, they aren't entirely safe! Belated effects include seizures, cancer, an impaired immune system, aplastic anemia, gastrointestinal syndrome, hematopoietic syndrome and neurovacular syndrome, killing victims long after the encounter.

Scorpions prefer to eat other arthropods. They prey on centipedes, earthworms, spiders and crickets or even other scorpions. al-Mawt wait just below the surface in sandy dunes or between rocky crevasses, relying on their hairs to sense vibrations. They spring out without warning and grab prey with their claws, crushing them if they can or stinging when necessary. These scorpions can only consume liquid food, using their chelicerae to tear off tiny pieces before flooding a chamber near their mouth with digestive juices! This process can take several hours, al-Mawt pulling their kills back under the sand. Yet when prey is scarce, they can go without food for several months. Thanks to a low metabolism, they can remain totally inactive while they wait.

Despite their deadly venom, al-Mawt are actually a sought after prey which is why they spend so much of their time underground. Jah Eagle-Owl, Ayyur Fox, Mul'ataa Agama, Paraa Falcon, Mefkaht Ostritch and others often prey on these arthropods. Predators need to be creative to locate and disarm al-Mawt. Some take advantage of the fact that scorpions glow bluegreen under ultraviolet light! Taking advantage of light magic, al-Mawt are easily spotted even beneath the sand. Other invertebrates like spiders and centipedes will also eat al-Mawt, mutually preying on each other.

You might have never guessed these ordinarily aggressive and even cannibalistic creatures would have courtship rituals but against all odds, they love to dance! When females are ready to mate, they will begin releasing pheromones, quickly attracting nearby males. When they meet, the male will hold the female's pincirs in his own and lead in a dance-like walk which is called the promenade a deux. She will choose her mate based on this dance but if more than one male appears they might have small skirmishes.

Unlike other arachnids, scorpions give birth to live young! Their particular form of live birth is called ovoviviparity. The baby scorpions will develop inside of their eggs within the mother's body, remaining here until ready to hatch. Anywhere from 35-87 scorpions can hatch at once, gestating for around 185-277 days. After hatching, their mother usually carries them around on her back until they have had their first molt. Newborns look exactly like adults but smaller. They won't reach adult size until they molt 5-7 times, each of these stages called instars.