Urodacus yaschenkoi

Urodacus yaschenkoi is a desert adapted scorpion found throughout Australia's interior. Mating and molting occur in late spring/early summer, whilst young are born 18 months later in late summer/early autumn. Adults reach a size in South Australia of around 70mm from mouth to tip of sting. The species occurs from the Murray river region in South Australia/NW Victoria to the north west of Western Australia.

Distribution

The Australian arid zone encompasses some 70% of the continent (as shown above-stippled), and contains many different types of country. This great expanse is unified by it's physiography and climate. The most obvious physiographic feature is the relentless flatness, only interrupted by the Central and Pilbara Ranges. A timeless ancient land of rolling sand ridges, flat plains and low broken hills. The arid zone consists of several sub-regions, each with it's own combination of landscape and vegetation. Sandy soils are found in the Great Sandy, Tanami, Great Victoria and Simpson deserts and the Central Ranges. Other regions have clay, loam or stony soils.
Often, areas predominated by one plant/soil type will have another plant/soil type scattered in smaller areas within it. This can give rise to populations of wildlife specific to the scattered areas being isolated from one another in a similar way that islands are separated, leading to speciation. This scenario occurs in South Australia where U. yaschenkoi inhabits these island pockets along the boundaries of its distribution
Average rainfall in the southern part of the region is less than 250mm, whereas in the north where temperatures are generally higher rainfall is up to 500mm per annum. Seasonal pattern of rainfall is different from south to north. In the south, rain falls evenly over most of the year except in some regions it mainly rains during winter months. In the north most rain falls during summer. Rainfall in the arid zone is often patchy and unpredictable putting its inhabitants under constant threat from long droughts.
Urodacus yaschenkoi has made a success of the unpredictable and often hostile environment we know as the arid zone. If success can be measured in biomass then U. yaschenkoi is one of the great success stories of Australias dry interior, where biodiversity is comparatively low.