Indian Red Scorpion

The Indian red scorpion, Hottentotta tamulus, is a species of scorpion found across most of India, eastern Pakistan, the eastern lowlands of Nepal and, more recently, Sri Lanka, where it inhabits humid, vegetated lowlands and often lives close to human settlements in scrubland, cropland and orchards. It measures about 50 to 90 millimeters in length, with orange-yellow to reddish-brown pincers and legs, and is considered one of the most medically dangerous scorpions in the world, with documented fatality rates of 8 to 40 percent, mostly among children, from venom that can damage the heart and lungs; the drug prazosin has been shown to reduce mortality to under 4 percent when used in treatment.