Hottentotta
Hottentotta is a genus of scorpions of the family Buthidae. It is distributed widely across Africa, except for most of the Sahara desert. Species in the genus also occur in the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, southeastern Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Cape Verde Islands, and Sri Lanka (introduced). Taxonomy. The genus was introduced in 1908 by A. A. Birula, originally as a subgenus of the genus "Buthus". It was elevated to genus rank by F. Werner in 1934. "Buthotus" Vachon, 1949 is an often used but outdated synonym of "Hottentotta". Some authors subdivided the genus into  three subgenera, "Hottentotta (Hottentotta)", "Hottentotta (Balfourianus)" Vachon, 1979, and "Hottentotta (Deccanobuthus)" Lourenço, 2000. The latest taxonomic reviews of this genus by F. Kovařík reject this subdivision and recognizes a single, undivided genus "Hottentotta". The differences separating the closely related genus "Mesobuthus" from "Hottentotta" are very subtle and species have been often been misassigned among the two genera. Diversity. The content of this genus may vary, depending on the authority. At least 40-41 species are known: General characteristics. Members of "Hottentotta" are generally moderately sized scorpions, with a total length of ; the smallest species are long, while the largest species  reach . They belong to the most colorful species of scorpions. The base color ranges from bright yellow to black, with most species colored in brown or reddish tones. Many species are ornamented by color spots or bands especially on the mesosoma. Coloration may be considerable variable between individuals of the same species or among regional populations. They show a typical buthid habitus with gracile pedipalp chelae and a moderately thickened metasoma. The vesicle is bulbous and proportionally large in some species. The cephalothorax and mesosoma shows distinct granulation in most species, some are strongly hirsute. The tergites of the mesosoma  bear three distinct, longitudinal carinae (ridges). Toxicity. As in other buthids the venom in at least some species of "Hottentotta" is relatively potent and can be of medical importance to humans. "H. tamulus", the Indian red scorpion, has evidently caused human fatalities by cardiovascular and pulmonary manifestations of intoxication and is considered the most lethal scorpion species in the world. Kleber et al. (1999) listed envenomation by at least four other species as to cause clinically significant symptoms. This listing is not comprehensive due to lack of data and all species of "Hottentotta" are potentially highly venomous to humans. Note  that the LD value might differ considerably between populations of the same species. Habitat. Most species live in semi-arid to humid, steppe, savannah and forested environments. Hyperarid deserts are avoided. Some reach considerable topographic altitudes as e.g. in the Atlas Mountains, the Zagros Mountains or at the Hindukush. In captivity. Due to their relatively colorful appearance "Hottentotta" species are often kept and bred in captivity. Popular species are "H. hottentotta" and "H. trilineatus". As with other highly venomous buthids keeping these species in captivity is only recommendable to experienced people.