Why Smaller Scorpions Are More Dangerous Than the Bigger Ones?

Smaller Scorpions Have More Potent Venom Than Larger Ones, New Research Reveals — Egyptian pharmacist Nahla Abdel-Hameed catches a scorpion at the Scorpion Kingdom laboratory and farm in Egypt's Western Desert, near the city of Dakhla in the New Valley, some 700 Southeast the capital, on February 4, 2021 KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

The size of the scorpion determines how vicious it can be. Although they are mistakenly labeled as poisonous, scorpions are actually venomous. Poisonous organisms release toxins when eaten or touched, but venomous organisms bite or sting to inject their venom.

Now, researchers from NUI Galway have tested the theory from "Indiana Jones" and the "Kingdom of the Crystal Skul"l that warned of the dangers of small scorpions. The movie claims that when it comes to scorpions, the bigger, the better since smaller ones have more potent venom.

(Photo : KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Egyptian pharmacist Nahla Abdel-Hameed catches a scorpion at the Scorpion Kingdom laboratory and farm in Egypt's Western Desert, near the city of Dakhla in the New Valley, some 700 Southeast the capital, on February 4, 2021

Small But Terrible Scorpions

For the first time, scientists have shown that smaller species of scorpions with smaller pincers are more venomous compared to larger ones with robust claws. The study, titled "Scorpion Species with Smaller Body Sizes and Narrower Chelae Have the Highest Venom Potency" published in the international journal Toxins, has proven that it is more than a fictional plot in a movie.

The team from Ryan Institute in NUI Galway analyzed 36 species of scorpions to find out if larger species have less potent venoms and are better in terms of avoiding a nasty sting. The results showed that the smallest scorpions, like the Brazilian yellow scorpion, are over 100 times more venomous than the rock scorpion, the largest specimen in the study.

But more than the body size, researchers noticed that small scorpions with small pincers, like the South African thick-tail scorpion, have venom 10 times more potent than the Israeli god scorpion with the most powerful pincer.

Researchers also emphasize that scorpions use their pincers to sting and capture prey for defense. However, the study demonstrates that having bigger weapons have evolutionary consequences. Since more energy is needed to make these big weapons, less energy is left for its chemical arsenal, resulting in bigger scorpions becoming less reliant on their venoms than smaller ones.

The team now plans to test these revolutionary rules on other species to see what makes them more potent to help develop better medical approaches to scorpion venoms.

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Components of Scorpion Venom

According to a paper published in the Journal of Venom Research, scorpion venom is a rich source of biomolecules that perturb the physiological activity of the victim but also have therapeutic potential. Scientists have extensively studied scorpions because they have been one of the oldest venomous species on Earth.

Scorpion venom components include water, mucosa, nucleotides, ions, amino acids, oligopeptides, salts, neurotransmitters, metals, low molecular weight peptides, and mucopolysaccharides mucoproteins, hyaluronidase, phospholipase, histamine, biogenic amines, serotonin, and many other unidentified substances.

Its toxic components are largely due to its rich source of various small molecules and peptides. Scorpions from the Buthidae family reportedly have the most toxic and medically important venom. Scorpion venom has been beneficial for several diseases, like breast cancer, leukemia, and glioma.