The majority are desert or semi-desert dwellers. These species escape the heat by being active at night and by using burrows as refuge from hot, dry conditions. Most people are surprised to learn that scorpions are related to spiders and are arachnids. They have eight legs and a body that is divided into two segments.
Scorpions have pincer claws and a stinger.
The stinger becomes sharper after each molt. Molting occurs in all arthropods as they grow. The exoskeleton is shed and replaced with another larger one. Of the 1200 known species of scorpions, only about 50 are dangerously venomous to humans. Venom is a poisonous material produced by an animal that is then transmitted by biting or stinging.