Ready to strike, this desert scorpion drawing dates back to 1881. I found him being used in the Arthropoda entry from the 1910 Encyclopedia Britannica. Desert scorpion is a bit of a generalization as many of these creatures favor the warm climates often associated with deserts. This desert scorpion drawing is identified as a Buthusaustralis which I suspect is actually what we identify as Buthus Australis or a fat tailed scorpion.
While I haven’t found details, it would appear that the venom of the Buthus australis has been used in homeopathic medicine. One homeopathic website was even selling live scorpions. I think I’ll stick to desert scorpion drawings, for now anyway.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
