Hormuridae Laurie, 1896 was previously included as a subfamily in Hemiscorpiidae Pocock, 1893. Monod and Predini (2014) have now published a major revision of the status of many of the taxa included in Hemiscorpiidae, one of the conclusions being the revalidation of the Family Hormuridae. The following paragraph is explaining the complicated history behind this taxa (this is taken from Monod and Prendini, 2014).

The family Ischnuridae, first established by Simon (1879), was relegated to a subfamily of Scorpionidae Latreille, 1802 by Pocock (1893) and restored to family rank by Lourenco (1989). The subfamily Heteroscorpioninae Kraepelin, 1905, previously placed in Scorpionidae, was synonymized with Ischnuridae (Lourenco, 1989). Stockwell (1989) considered Ischnuridae a valid family, distinct from Scorpionidae, and comprising three subfamilies: Ischnurinae Simon, 1879; Heteroscorpioninae Kraepelin, 1905, revalidated as a subfamily; Hemiscorpiinae Pocock, 1893, previously a subfamily of Scorpionidae. Lourenco (1996) elevated Heteroscorpionidae Kraepelin, 1905 to family rank based on Stockwell's (1989) phylogeny. The family Hemiscorpiidae Pocock, 1893 was recovered as the sister group of Liochelidae and elevated to family rank by Prendini (2000), along with Heteroscorpionidae. The name Liochelidae, proposed by Fet and Bechly (2001) to remove homonymy with Ischnurinae Fraser, 1957 (Insecta, Odonata), was approved by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) (2003). Soleglad and Fet (2003) relegated Heteroscorpionidae to a subfamily of Urodacidae Pocock, 1893 and Hemiscorpiidae to a subfamily of Liochelidae, although the name Hemiscorpiidae has priority over Liochelidae. Soleglad et al. (2005) subsequently proposed Hemiscorpiidae as a senior synonym of Liochelidae, and Hormurinae Laurie, 1896 as a senior synonym of Liochelinae Fet and Bechly, 2001. Prendini and Wheeler (2005) rejected these changes, and reinstated Hemiscorpiidae and Heteroscorpionidae as distinct from Liochelidae and Urodacidae, respectively.Hormurini, the oldest available name for the taxa assigned to Ischnurinae by Stockwell (1989), to Ischnuridae by Lourenco (1989), Prendini (2000), and Fet et al. (2000), and to Liochelidae by Fet and Bechly (2001) and Prendini and Wheeler (2005), is hereby reinstated as the valid name for the family, resulting in four new synonyms.

Reference:
Monod L, Prendini L. Evidence for Eurogondwana: The roles of dispersal, extinction and vicariance in the evolution and biogeography of Indo-Pacific Hormuridae (Scorpiones: Scorpionoidea). Cladistics. 2014 (In Press).

This family consists of 11 genera and 116 species [Updated 15.11.24], and inhabits southeastern Asia and Australia.

Some of the scorpions in this family are quite common in captivity. In particular, the large and fascinating members of the genus Hadogenes are popular, but these are difficult to get due to limited numbers in the pet trade. Also some species of Iomachus and Opistacanthus have been reported in captivity.

The scorpions in this family are not medically important, and some of the species have very high LD50 values. (High LD50 value means less venomous; e.g., Hadogenes troglodytes has a reported LD50 of 2,000 mg/kg (LD50 = Lethal Dose in 50% of samples, milligram venom/kilogram rat or mouse weight: Leiurus has an LD50 well below 1.00 mg/kg, for comparison)). Many of the members of this family have very slender caudas (tails, metasomas).

A characteristic of many members of family, especially, Hadogenes, is that the scorpions are very flat (looks like somebody has stomped on them). This is an adaption to a life in cracks and crevices. They resemble the scorpions in the family Scorpionidae, in which they were previously included. Some members of this family are very slow-growing, long lived, and can attain very long lengths (+ 20 cm).

Iomachus politus photo (left) by Jan Ove Rein (C).
Hadogenes troglodytes photo (right) by Jan Ove Rein (C).

SPECIES FILES:
This list of genera and species is based on Fet et al.(2000). September 2019: Subspecies are included in the list. I try to update the list as additions and changes are published. * denotes changes after Fet et al. (2000). I will be grateful for information about new development in the taxonomy of this family. For information about synonyms and bibliographies, see Fet et al. (2000).
See also Soleglad & Fet (2003) for more information. Fulltext freely available HERE (issue 11).