Common names:
No common name. All Euscorpius were previously placed in the family Chactidae. Like E. carpathicus, this is a species with high intraspecific variation, and 10 subspecies are known. Future research might show that E. mingrelicus is a species complex, and that some populations/subspecies might be elevated to species status in the future (like E. gamma).

Distribution:
Asia (Georgia, Syria, Turkey and Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Romania, Russia, Slovenia and Yugoslavia). There is some uncertainty about the full distribution of this species, and reports from some countries might be misidentifications of other species.

Habitat:
This species is found in mountainous areas with high humidity (forrest habitat). Reported from river valleys in Austria. Hide under stones and other suitable objects on the ground, but are also found under the bark of dead trees and logs. Little is known about the biology of this species.

Venom:
No medical data available, but data from other Euscorpius species suggest local effects only. Mildly venomous. Harmless scorpion, which rarely will use its stinger.

Selected litterature:
Fet, V. (1993). Notes on Euscorpius mingrelicus (Kessler, 1874) (Scorpiones; Chactidae) from the Caucasus. Riv. Mus. Cic. Sc. Nat. "E. Caffi" Bergamo, vol. 16, pp. 1-8.
Kritscher, E. (1993), Ein beitrag zur verbreitung der skorpione im östlichen Mittelmeerraum. Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, vol. 94/95, pp. 377-391.
Crucitti, P. (1993). Distribution and diversity of Italian scorpions. REDIA, vol. LXXVI (2), 281-300.
Fet, V. (2000). Scorpions (Arachnida, Scorpiones) from the Balkan Peninsula in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia. Historia Naturalis Bulgarica, vol. 11, pp. 47-60.
Fet, V. & M. E. Braunwalder (2000). The scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) of the Aegean area: current problems in taxonomy and biogeography. Belg. J. Zool., vol. 130 (suppl.), pp. 17-22.

On the Internet:
Scorpions in Turkey

General:
Dark body coloration, and adult measure up to 38 mm. It is difficult to separate this species from E. gamma and E. germanus. See the Euscorpius identification key for more details.

This species is probably not kept in captivity.

E. mingrelicus photo by: Dr. Ahmet Karatash (C)