Andrii Rusnak · Tsalenjikha Georgia field photo
Risk to humans
HarmlessNo medical venom risk
No medically significant venom. Do not pick it up anyway — watch it and leave it where it is.
Key facts in one look
- Group
- Scorpion; Arachnida, Scorpiones
- Family
- Euscorpiidae
- Status in Georgia
- Confirmed in western Georgia
- Size
- Up to about 38 mm
- Habitat
- Humid forest / mountains
- Human risk
- Harmless; do not handle
The Mingrelian scorpion (Euscorpius mingrelicus) is a small, dark scorpion. Adults grow to about 38 mm. It has venom, but based on current information it is not considered a serious threat to human health. According to reliable information, it lives in western Georgia and has been recorded in Adjara, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Guria and Imereti. It is a true scorpion and belongs to the arachnids (Arachnida), so it is neither an insect nor a spider. A 2015 paper linked Euscorpius mingrelicus, in the narrow sense, to Georgia and Turkey. In 2019 Alpiscorpius was split off as a separate genus, so some modern databases also list this species as Alpiscorpius mingrelicus.
Identification
Mingrelian scorpion: how to identify it
A small, dark-colored scorpion with two pincers and a tail made up of sections, ending in a stinger. Species in the Euscorpius/Alpiscorpius group are often hard to tell apart. Telling them apart may take an expert’s assessment and a close look at specific details.
A scorpion has two pincers and an upward-curving tail made up of several sections, with a stinger at the end. A pseudoscorpion also has pincers, but no tail or stinger. So you can easily tell the two apart by the tail.
The Megrelian scorpion is dark in color and reaches about 38 mm in length. You cannot identify it accurately by body color alone.
Scorpions in the Euscorpius/Alpiscorpius group are often hard to tell apart. Older sources used the name Euscorpius mingrelicus more broadly. So a scorpion recorded under that name in an older source is not necessarily a Mingrelian scorpion as the name is understood today.
The mottled scorpion (Mesobuthus eupeus) is found in drier, open places, while the Megrelian scorpion, according to available accounts, lives in wetter, wooded and mountainous places. The two come from different families: the mottled scorpion belongs to Buthidae, the Megrelian scorpion to Euscorpiidae. If you find a scorpion, note what kind of place it was in: dry and open, or damp and wooded.
Available information suggests that the Mingrelian scorpion lives mainly in damp, wooded and mountainous places. During the day it may hide under stones, logs or the bark of dead trees, or in other natural shelters. The mottled scorpion, by contrast, is found in drier, more open places. If you find a scorpion in a damp, wooded valley in western Georgia, it may be the Mingrelian scorpion (Euscorpius mingrelicus). But location alone is not enough to identify the species with certainty.
The Mingrelian scorpion map combines Reptiles.ge editorial photo records with public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Region with records
Like other scorpions, Euscorpius mingrelicus hunts small insects and similar animals. It grabs its prey with its pincers, then subdues it with its stinger and venom.
The Megrelian scorpion stays out of sight. You are most likely to see it when lifting stones, logs, bark or other natural cover, especially in damp, wooded places. Do not pick it up. If you need to move it in your home or yard, use a container and a stiff card so you do not touch it, or ask a specialist for help. To identify it accurately, clear photos taken from above and from the side, along with the exact place where you found it, help the most.
Fabian A. Boetzl · Armen Seropian · Frederic Griesbaum · Andrii Rusnak
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes. Based on 2015 data, the Mingrelian scorpion (Euscorpius mingrelicus) in the narrow sense occurs in Georgia, and its range is linked to western Georgia. It has been recorded in Adjara, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Guria and Imereti.
Like other scorpions, the Megrelian scorpion belongs to the arachnids (Arachnida). Spiders belong to this group too, but a scorpion is not a spider. Insects are an entirely different group. So a scorpion is neither an insect nor a spider.
It is a small, dark-colored scorpion with pincers and a stinger on its tail. However, its species often cannot be identified accurately by color or size alone. For a more reliable identification, take a clear close-up photo and note the exact place where you found the scorpion.
The Megrelian scorpion is not considered a major health risk. It has venom, but based on available information, its sting likely causes symptoms mainly at the spot where the scorpion stung. Still, do not touch it with your hands. If the pain is severe or a child has been stung, seek medical care promptly. Call 112 if the person who was stung has trouble breathing, loses consciousness or develops other severe symptoms that are not limited to the sting site. See the guide for the first steps to take.
Based on available information, the Mingrelian scorpion lives in western Georgia, in wetter, wooded or mountainous places. It probably hides under stones, logs and tree bark.
The names Euscorpius mingrelicus and Alpiscorpius mingrelicus refer to the same species. A 2019 study separated Alpiscorpius into its own genus. That is why some modern databases list this species as Alpiscorpius mingrelicus.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
