If you want a simple short-cut to carp fishing success you’ve come to the right place. This advice applies to any form of fishing because it is so vitally important. Here is a list of simple details that I wish I’d discovered when I began carp fishing when information was in much shorter supply. Over the years I have been shocked by the number of newer carp anglers who over-look the ultimate importance of their hooks and their hooking efficiency. So many unnecessary blank sessions come from anglers not realising details they’re missing on the end of their line and more awareness of aspects of the part of their tackle that truly matters the most...
Sometimes it’s very easy for a carp angler to get fixated by new products; like bait flavours, new boilies and pellets etc and the constant stream of new bivvies and ‘camo’ gear that emblazon the advertisement pages of glossy fishing magazines meant to seduce us. These products are very well designed to meet new anglers’ fashions and needs and specific purposes. However, the ability of a hook to actually hook a fish is a pretty old basic need and deserves far more personal attention from many anglers to improve the results of their fishing time and efforts spent.
The basis of the information below arrived from my use of thin wired light-weight ‘Kamasan’ hooks 25 years ago or more, which were extremely effective but occasionally opened-up on hooking bigger carp. The answer came in the form of very precisely sharpening thicker wire hooks like the ‘Kamasan’ low water salmon hooks with the longer shank. I have used this types of hook and many similar designs for years and believe their point’s angle of penetration to be absolutely ideal for my purposes. It’s proven superior in sea fishing applications for me also. (Ask England international Dion McFadden – ha ha ha!)
(You might bear in mind fishing hooks do not ‘hook’ fish by themselves, but require force, from a particular angle of line attached to make the point penetrate effectively enough to do its required job.)
In the ‘British Carp Study Group’ magazine (Spring 2007,) famous angler and one of the group’s scientific advisers, George Sharman, proposes that an ideal hook point penetration angle / line angle of force of 26 degrees transferred into the hook point is about right, teamed with an in-turned eye. This has shown ideal initial ‘pricking of fish’ and secure hook hold properties with hooks of varied gap sizes. Now I’m not an engineer, but my practical trials and experiences with hooks and indication / conversion to hooked fish leads me to similar conclusions. It may be noted that I’ve fished for more than a couple of decades using bite indicators and various set-ups tuned to register the minimum of line movement since positive benefits of this were first discovered in my winter fishing especially.
I personally use a sharpened hook and I realise this sound ‘antiquated’ perhaps today. But I consider it is vital for many surprising reasons laid out below. Hooks catch fish but many benefit from a little help and close attention to maximise their effectiveness. It takes personal fishing trials and indication / catch rate comparisons over time to achieve true confidence in the hooks you choose to use. Why not use the best designed best quality hooks you can buy for your personal fishing styles and activities, which may be extremely varied indeed.
Sharpening hook has many hidden benefits on the whole of your fishing and confidence levels and even thinking and approach to everything you do to catch fish.
Fishing hooks are often an after-thought when compared to the attention brought to bear on expensive carp rods and reels for instance. By disciplining yourself into sharpening every hook you use you not only get a great feel for the action and success of any hook pattern compared over time, but ensures that no faulty eyed or blunt pointed hooks are used which definitely cost you fish.
The easiest way to lose a fish is to give it the chance to consume your bait and have a hook either inefficiently penetrate its skin, or that has the wrong design for your rig purposes or situation, size or shape of bait, hook link material action etc. Your rig is the converter of attempted bait consummation. If it is not maximised in every way possible to convert attentions to your bait into hooked fish you may as well fish with no hook or no bait for the majority of your time spent fishing.
Most fish are lost without an angler ever realising a fish was ‘on’ in the first place, which is a shame and is one area the best most detail oriented tuned-in anglers excel out. This may seem ‘over the top’ but then why should you not benefit from little differences that set the best apart from the rest? Rigs don’t need to be complicated just as with baits, but it’s the attention to details in getting the complete process refined so the right bait and rig for any given fishing situation are the right ones. This can produce above average catch consistency without an angler having the added advantage of access to better bait techniques and technology or more fishing time available.
Don’t forget many hooks bought in packets may not be as sharp as is truly needed. Mostly a carp will hook itself, but on pressured waters a hook any less that past needle sharp can well mean many lost fish you never ever imagined had taken your bait into their mouths. A diamond hook sharpener is essential to me – I’d not bother fishing without treating my hooks to a very precisely formed diameter point and length of point too. I find a hook with a longer point which is well sharpened and thinned along its length makes a massive difference to numbers of bigger fish hooked. This ‘point’ applies to chemically sharpened hooks also.
OK, I’ve over-done sharpening sometimes and lost 40 pound plus fish at the net as the point opens, but would such fish have ‘spit’ the hook anyway and not been hooked? It’s very likely. Most anglers use a heavy lead on any of a range of rigs styles and lengths. But most don’t consider the fact that we are really trying to get around how the fish are feeding in response to angling pressure and associated feeding behaviours in response to what the anglers themselves are doing. Sure a heavy lead and tight line hooks lots of fish, but very often a light lead even at range with a longer hair and hook link will produce more fish and, often more warier bigger fish too.
If you find you are ‘dropping fish’ or ‘pulling out’ of them during the fight, or even getting odd single bleeps on the bite indicators which don’t produce positive action afterwards, try sharpening your hook. I cover my freshly sharpened hook with paste and coat the hair and bait in paste. I often use 2 or 3 types of homemade paste on a rig beside other boilie or paste baits for example in order to vary the solubility and rate of breakdown of bait and give the fish more to ‘think about’. This covers the taste of a sharpened hook and glint of hook metal before it oxidises and fades. Plus paste melting produces unusual bait movement and added dimensions to a curious fish.
In fact using paste on the hook and similar paste in different states in a PVA bag can really trip up fish even better than common set-ups that just use paste on the bait on a hair alone. I like to actually draw attention to the hook itself which is unusual these days. By using fresh balls of paste, air-dried paste and scalded paste bits together with a diversity of strategically included items in the PVA bag many fish seem to lose the grip on their ‘danger reference points’ momentarily. This is after all the aim of all our rig and bait efforts right?
If you’re still not convinced, why not trial identical rigs with sharpened and unsharpened hooks and see the difference over a range of hook designs. The results will be clear; I actually refined my results using rigs and a range of hook patterns to hook very shy biting crucian carp. I could actually observe the fish taking each bait and I was shocked that many makes and designs straight from the packet rarely produced a hooked fish. Often a fish would get hooked and get off in a second, while others stayed in the mouth despite attempts to twist and shake the hook out. I do appreciate that the quality and technology and design involved in hooks has been raised over the years by manufacturers but a personally physically sharpened hook has enormous benefits.
The realities of simple peace of mind and improved confidence that you are fishing as efficiently as possible really counts especially on tougher waters and when fish are not ‘playing the game!’ Using the most important piece of your fishing tackle which you have intimately inspected and shaped yourself really does produce more fish; getting into the habit of being more detail oriented adds up and the extra effort even influences your effectiveness in fish location and swim choice, thinking and approach to bait and efforts to minimise lazy conventional fishing practices whose edge has already passed.
As its Christmas coming up why not invest in a hook sharpener and really experiment in achieving the longest sharpest hook points possible, perhaps while watching all that Christmas TV. (I have no connection with ‘Fox International’ except I used to fish alongside Cliff (ha ha ha!) But their bar shaped diamond sharpeners are the most effective tool I’ve used for many years now.) The effort of sharpening your hooks will really pay you back for sure. It did for carp fishing legend Richard Walker...
Best of all, doing this will raise your confidence when you cast your rig into those cold winter waters, where a fish may only be willing to move just a few inches to feed and an extremely sharp hook is all you may have to initially efficiently hook a winter fish. Especially at times such as this, just a few minutes in concentrated effort sharpening your hooks, could well produce for you a very memorable fish worthy of your efforts.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
KANGAROO
STATUS:
Vulnerable, except for the Tasmanian forester kangaroo, which is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
DESCRIPTION:
Kangaroos have powerful hind legs and short, thumbless forelimbs. Kangaroos can travel at speeds up to 30 miles per hour and can leap some 30 feet. Kangaroos use their long tails for balancing. Their bodies are covered in thick, coarse, wooly hair that can be shades of gray, brown or red. Kangaroos are marsupials, which means that females carry newborns, or "joeys," in a pouch on the front of their abdomens.
SIZE:
Red and gray kangaroos stand between five and six feet tall. Most weigh between 50 and 120 pounds, though some can reach 200 pounds. Female kangaroos are generally smaller than males of the same species.
POPULATION:
Macropus giganteus (eastern gray kangaroo): 8,978,000.
Macropus fuliginosus (western gray kangaroo): 1,774,000.
Macropus rufus (red kangaroo): 8,351,000.
LIFESPAN:
On average, kangaroos live in the wild for six to eight years.
RANGE:
Kangaroos are found in Australia and Tasmania, as well as on surrounding islands.
HABITAT:
Kangaroos live in varied habitats, from forests and woodland areas to grassy plains and savannas.
FOOD:
Kangaroos are grazing herbivores, which means their diet consists mainly of grasses. They can survive long periods without water.
BEHAVIOR:
Kangaroos live and travel in organized groups or "mobs," dominated by the largest male.
OFFSPRING:
Usually, female kangaroos give birth to one joey at a time. Newborns weigh as little as 0.03 ounces at birth. After birth, the joey crawls into its mother�s pouch, where it will nurse and continue to grow and develop. Red kangaroo joeys do not leave the pouch for good until they are more than eight months old. Gray kangaroo joeys wait until they are almost a year old.
THREATS:
Humans hunt kangaroos for their meat and hides. Also, the introduction of domestic herbivores, such as sheep, cattle and rabbits increases competition for many plants and may cause food scarcity in times of drought.
PROTECTION:
The Tasmanian forester kangaroo is listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Vulnerable, except for the Tasmanian forester kangaroo, which is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
DESCRIPTION:
Kangaroos have powerful hind legs and short, thumbless forelimbs. Kangaroos can travel at speeds up to 30 miles per hour and can leap some 30 feet. Kangaroos use their long tails for balancing. Their bodies are covered in thick, coarse, wooly hair that can be shades of gray, brown or red. Kangaroos are marsupials, which means that females carry newborns, or "joeys," in a pouch on the front of their abdomens.
SIZE:
Red and gray kangaroos stand between five and six feet tall. Most weigh between 50 and 120 pounds, though some can reach 200 pounds. Female kangaroos are generally smaller than males of the same species.
POPULATION:
Macropus giganteus (eastern gray kangaroo): 8,978,000.
Macropus fuliginosus (western gray kangaroo): 1,774,000.
Macropus rufus (red kangaroo): 8,351,000.
LIFESPAN:
On average, kangaroos live in the wild for six to eight years.
RANGE:
Kangaroos are found in Australia and Tasmania, as well as on surrounding islands.
HABITAT:
Kangaroos live in varied habitats, from forests and woodland areas to grassy plains and savannas.
FOOD:
Kangaroos are grazing herbivores, which means their diet consists mainly of grasses. They can survive long periods without water.
BEHAVIOR:
Kangaroos live and travel in organized groups or "mobs," dominated by the largest male.
OFFSPRING:
Usually, female kangaroos give birth to one joey at a time. Newborns weigh as little as 0.03 ounces at birth. After birth, the joey crawls into its mother�s pouch, where it will nurse and continue to grow and develop. Red kangaroo joeys do not leave the pouch for good until they are more than eight months old. Gray kangaroo joeys wait until they are almost a year old.
THREATS:
Humans hunt kangaroos for their meat and hides. Also, the introduction of domestic herbivores, such as sheep, cattle and rabbits increases competition for many plants and may cause food scarcity in times of drought.
PROTECTION:
The Tasmanian forester kangaroo is listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Spider is Man?
Spider, common name for about 34,000 species of arthropod animals having eight walking legs, anterior appendages bearing fangs and poison glands, and specialized reproductive organs on the second appendages of the male. They commonly make extensive use of silk that they spin. Like other arachnid species, spiders are terrestrial, although a few have adapted to freshwater life by trapping air bubbles underwater and carrying the bubbles with them. Spiders are numerous and occur worldwide. Although most are less than 1 cm (less than 0.4 in) long, the largest has a body length of about 9 cm (about 3.6 in), and spider leg spans can be much greater.
Structure
The body structure of a spider is similar to that of other arachnids in being divided into an anterior cephalothorax, or prosoma, and a posterior abdomen, or opisthosoma. The two parts are separated by a narrow stalk, or pedicel, which gives the animal a flexibility that facilitates its use of silk. The cephalothorax ordinarily bears four pairs of simple eyes that tend to be larger in hunting spiders and smaller in spinners of elaborate webs. Each of the first pair of appendages, or chelicerae, bears a fang with an opening from a poison gland at the tip. The next two appendages are pedipalps, rather leglike but generally modified into a kind of feeler. In the male the pedipalp bears a peculiar copulatory apparatus called a palpal organ. Also on the cephalothorax are four pairs of walking legs. On the abdomen are located modified appendages, the spinnerets, used in secreting silk. Respiratory openings on the abdomen lead to the so-called book lungs (named for their layered structure) or a system of tubes (tracheae) for carrying air, or both.
The digestive system of spiders is adapted exclusively to taking up liquid food, because the animals generally digest their prey outside the body and then suck the fluid. The fairly complex brain is larger or smaller in certain parts, depending on whether the animal locates prey mainly by touch or vision.
Venom
Spiders are generally carnivorous and feed only on living prey. They can crush it with processes on the pedipalps, and the chelicerae almost always have glands that can inject a venom. The bite of some large spiders can be painful, but most species are too small to break human skin, and only a few are dangerous to humans. The latter are mainly the black widow spider and its close relatives, which are nonaggressive and bite humans only in defense. Their painful bite is followed by faintness, difficulty in breathing, and other symptoms; although the bite is seldom fatal, especially if it is inflicted on healthy adults, medical attention for it should be sought at once.
Structure
The body structure of a spider is similar to that of other arachnids in being divided into an anterior cephalothorax, or prosoma, and a posterior abdomen, or opisthosoma. The two parts are separated by a narrow stalk, or pedicel, which gives the animal a flexibility that facilitates its use of silk. The cephalothorax ordinarily bears four pairs of simple eyes that tend to be larger in hunting spiders and smaller in spinners of elaborate webs. Each of the first pair of appendages, or chelicerae, bears a fang with an opening from a poison gland at the tip. The next two appendages are pedipalps, rather leglike but generally modified into a kind of feeler. In the male the pedipalp bears a peculiar copulatory apparatus called a palpal organ. Also on the cephalothorax are four pairs of walking legs. On the abdomen are located modified appendages, the spinnerets, used in secreting silk. Respiratory openings on the abdomen lead to the so-called book lungs (named for their layered structure) or a system of tubes (tracheae) for carrying air, or both.
The digestive system of spiders is adapted exclusively to taking up liquid food, because the animals generally digest their prey outside the body and then suck the fluid. The fairly complex brain is larger or smaller in certain parts, depending on whether the animal locates prey mainly by touch or vision.
Venom
Spiders are generally carnivorous and feed only on living prey. They can crush it with processes on the pedipalps, and the chelicerae almost always have glands that can inject a venom. The bite of some large spiders can be painful, but most species are too small to break human skin, and only a few are dangerous to humans. The latter are mainly the black widow spider and its close relatives, which are nonaggressive and bite humans only in defense. Their painful bite is followed by faintness, difficulty in breathing, and other symptoms; although the bite is seldom fatal, especially if it is inflicted on healthy adults, medical attention for it should be sought at once.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Saving Elephant
decorative elephantThe size of an Asian elephant is symbolic of its larger-than-life role in Asian culture. For 4,000 years, these elephants have carried soldiers into battle, hauled logs in inaccessible jungles, and participated in religious ceremonies.
But without help from scientists and conservationists, Asian elephants could soon be extinct. Their habitat has declined by 70 percent over the past 150 years and this species is listed as endangered on the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Animals. Other threats to their survival include human-elephant conflict, ivory poaching, and the capture of wild elephants to supplement the elephants in work or tourism camps.
Habitat Decline
palm oil plantationAsian elephants once ranged from Iraq to southern China and possibly Java. Now, however, they live in small, isolated pockets of widely dispersed habitat in south India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. Few of these remaining habitats may be large enough to support elephant populations long-term.
In recent years, elephant habitat has declined due to the global demand for crops grown on the land these animals inhabit. In some places, their habitat is being converted to palm oil plantations. Palm oil is one of the most popular cooking oils on the global market and is in high demand in Europe and Asia as biofuel. Palm oil is also used in many products sold in the U.S., including cosmetics, detergents, and shampoos.
Additionally, as the human population in Asia has boomed, more people have converted elephant habitat into crop land to feed their families. Many of the people who take over wild elephant habitat are among the most indigent of the Asian population. They have few alternatives to living on the margins of elephant habitat and raising crops. To them, elephants are a threat to their lives and livelihood.
Protecting the World’s Largest Land Mammal
The National Zoo has a rich history of caring for and studying Asian elephants. Zoo scientists have cared for these animals for more than 100 years and have studied them in the wild for nearly 40 years.
Helping on Their Home Turf
washing working elephantsAbout 30,000 to 50,000 Asian elephants live in the wild today. An additional 15,000 working elephants in Asia are used in the timber and tourist industries. Many of these, however, are now unemployed and living in substandard living conditions. National Zoo scientists are collaborating with conservation partners to improve living conditions for these elephants.
Zoo scientists were also responsible for timing the insemination of a female that resulted in Thailand’s first baby elephant conceived by artificial insemination. They helped teach Thai veterinarians and taught them how to use a critical artificial insemination technique.
Currently, many of the Zoo’s elephant conservation efforts are focused in Myanmar (Burma) and Sri Lanka. “[These countries] are two remaining strongholds for Asian elephants and are very important to the animals’ conservation,” says Peter Leimgruber, the National Zoo’s Conservation GIS Lab Director.
But without help from scientists and conservationists, Asian elephants could soon be extinct. Their habitat has declined by 70 percent over the past 150 years and this species is listed as endangered on the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Animals. Other threats to their survival include human-elephant conflict, ivory poaching, and the capture of wild elephants to supplement the elephants in work or tourism camps.
Habitat Decline
palm oil plantationAsian elephants once ranged from Iraq to southern China and possibly Java. Now, however, they live in small, isolated pockets of widely dispersed habitat in south India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. Few of these remaining habitats may be large enough to support elephant populations long-term.
In recent years, elephant habitat has declined due to the global demand for crops grown on the land these animals inhabit. In some places, their habitat is being converted to palm oil plantations. Palm oil is one of the most popular cooking oils on the global market and is in high demand in Europe and Asia as biofuel. Palm oil is also used in many products sold in the U.S., including cosmetics, detergents, and shampoos.
Additionally, as the human population in Asia has boomed, more people have converted elephant habitat into crop land to feed their families. Many of the people who take over wild elephant habitat are among the most indigent of the Asian population. They have few alternatives to living on the margins of elephant habitat and raising crops. To them, elephants are a threat to their lives and livelihood.
Protecting the World’s Largest Land Mammal
The National Zoo has a rich history of caring for and studying Asian elephants. Zoo scientists have cared for these animals for more than 100 years and have studied them in the wild for nearly 40 years.
Helping on Their Home Turf
washing working elephantsAbout 30,000 to 50,000 Asian elephants live in the wild today. An additional 15,000 working elephants in Asia are used in the timber and tourist industries. Many of these, however, are now unemployed and living in substandard living conditions. National Zoo scientists are collaborating with conservation partners to improve living conditions for these elephants.
Zoo scientists were also responsible for timing the insemination of a female that resulted in Thailand’s first baby elephant conceived by artificial insemination. They helped teach Thai veterinarians and taught them how to use a critical artificial insemination technique.
Currently, many of the Zoo’s elephant conservation efforts are focused in Myanmar (Burma) and Sri Lanka. “[These countries] are two remaining strongholds for Asian elephants and are very important to the animals’ conservation,” says Peter Leimgruber, the National Zoo’s Conservation GIS Lab Director.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Phyton is here
Diamond Python Fact File
Morelia spilota spilota
The Diamond Python is a distinctive large, black snake with cream to yellow markings. It is found in large bushland areas and national parks of Sydney, but often goes undetected because of its nocturnal, slow-moving habits. During the day, it may be seen basking in trees and occasionally it is found in roofs and rafters. A Diamond Python in your roof will not cause any damage but will help control rats and possums.
Like all pythons, the Diamond Python kills its prey by wrapping itself around its victim (in this case, small mammals and lizards) and suffocating it. The female lays eggs and coils around them to protect them and keep them warm. This maternal care, which is uncommon in snakes, ceases once the offspring hatch.
The Diamond Python is not as widespread in Sydney as it once was and, although it is not considered endangered, it is under pressure from habitat destruction.
Distribution:
Coastal areas of New South Wales.
Habitat:
Urban areas, forests and woodlands, heath.
Status:
Common
Size:
2-3 m.
Bite:
Non-venomous but can inflict a painful bite. Teeth can break off and remain embedded in the victim.
Morelia spilota spilota
The Diamond Python is a distinctive large, black snake with cream to yellow markings. It is found in large bushland areas and national parks of Sydney, but often goes undetected because of its nocturnal, slow-moving habits. During the day, it may be seen basking in trees and occasionally it is found in roofs and rafters. A Diamond Python in your roof will not cause any damage but will help control rats and possums.
Like all pythons, the Diamond Python kills its prey by wrapping itself around its victim (in this case, small mammals and lizards) and suffocating it. The female lays eggs and coils around them to protect them and keep them warm. This maternal care, which is uncommon in snakes, ceases once the offspring hatch.
The Diamond Python is not as widespread in Sydney as it once was and, although it is not considered endangered, it is under pressure from habitat destruction.
Distribution:
Coastal areas of New South Wales.
Habitat:
Urban areas, forests and woodlands, heath.
Status:
Common
Size:
2-3 m.
Bite:
Non-venomous but can inflict a painful bite. Teeth can break off and remain embedded in the victim.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Cobra Snake
Introduction
Cobra (snake), name for a group of venomous snakes known for their hooded threat display and dangerous bites. Cobras are found in Africa and Asia, and they have held a special place in human culture from ancient Egypt to modern India. About 30 species of snakes are commonly called cobras, including the king cobra (the world’s largest poisonous snake) and varieties that can “spit” venom. The name cobra comes from a Portuguese word for “snake” (short for cobra de capello “snake with a hood”).
Cobras belong to the same snake family (Elapidae) as coral snakes and mambas Not all types of snakes popularly called cobras may be directly related to the same ancestors. Rearing up to display a flattened neck that forms a hood and spraying venom are abilities that apparently evolved more than once in different members of the elapid family of snakes.
II
Habitat and Range
The different species of cobra live in habitats ranging from tropical rain forests and swamps to savannas and deserts. Because many cobra species prey on small rodents, the snakes may hunt or live in areas around human settlements or in fields where crops grow—both places where rodents thrive.
Cobras are found in most parts of Africa except for the Sahara Desert. Their range extends through the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia and into Southeast Asia as far as Indonesia and the Philippines, and into southern China.
Cobra (snake), name for a group of venomous snakes known for their hooded threat display and dangerous bites. Cobras are found in Africa and Asia, and they have held a special place in human culture from ancient Egypt to modern India. About 30 species of snakes are commonly called cobras, including the king cobra (the world’s largest poisonous snake) and varieties that can “spit” venom. The name cobra comes from a Portuguese word for “snake” (short for cobra de capello “snake with a hood”).
Cobras belong to the same snake family (Elapidae) as coral snakes and mambas Not all types of snakes popularly called cobras may be directly related to the same ancestors. Rearing up to display a flattened neck that forms a hood and spraying venom are abilities that apparently evolved more than once in different members of the elapid family of snakes.
II
Habitat and Range
The different species of cobra live in habitats ranging from tropical rain forests and swamps to savannas and deserts. Because many cobra species prey on small rodents, the snakes may hunt or live in areas around human settlements or in fields where crops grow—both places where rodents thrive.
Cobras are found in most parts of Africa except for the Sahara Desert. Their range extends through the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia and into Southeast Asia as far as Indonesia and the Philippines, and into southern China.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
It is a Scorpion
SCORPION, common name for any member of the ARTHROPOD order Scorpionida, class Arachnida, the class that also includes spiders and mites. About 1400 species of scorpion exist; about 40 of them occur in the U.S. Usually brown in color and ranging from about 2.5 to 20 cm (about 1 to 8 in) in length, the scorpion has a flat, narrow body, two lobsterlike claws, eight legs, and a segmented abdominal tail. Terminating in a venomous stinger supplied by a pair of poison glands, the tail is usually curved upward and forward over the back.
Found in warm and dry tropical regions, including the southwestern U.S., the scorpion is nocturnal and feeds mainly on spiders and insects. The young are born live and remain with the mother for a short period. When capturing a victim with its claws, the scorpion inflicts a disabling sting with its tail. In most species the sting is painful, but not fatal, to humans, although the sting of the U.S. species Centrureides sculpturatus has proved fatal to young children and is potentially fatal to adults. Other areas of the world have more dangerous scorpion species; the poison involved is a neurotoxin, attacking the nervous system.
Found in warm and dry tropical regions, including the southwestern U.S., the scorpion is nocturnal and feeds mainly on spiders and insects. The young are born live and remain with the mother for a short period. When capturing a victim with its claws, the scorpion inflicts a disabling sting with its tail. In most species the sting is painful, but not fatal, to humans, although the sting of the U.S. species Centrureides sculpturatus has proved fatal to young children and is potentially fatal to adults. Other areas of the world have more dangerous scorpion species; the poison involved is a neurotoxin, attacking the nervous system.
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