Comparative Histological Characterization of the Venom Apparatus in Five Iranian Scorpion Species
Abstract
Background: Scorpion envenomation represents a significant public health concern worldwide. The telson is located at the distal part of the metasoma, where venom is secreted from a pair of venom glands. The curved stinger is responsible for venom delivery.
Methods: This study conducted a histological examination of five scorpion species, including Hottentotta juliae, Hottentotta zagrosensis, Odontobuthus kermanus, and Scorpio maurus, which were gathered from Fars Province, as well as Hemiscorpius lepturus, collected from Khuzestan Province. The telson histology was assessed using the hematoxylin-eosin method.
Results: The exocuticle, endocuticle, and secretory epithelium, which consists of secretory and supporting cells, were identified in the tissues of all species. Cuticle pores were distributed throughout the telson. Each venom gland possesses a central lumen, where secreted venom accumulates within a venom sac. The intercalated tendon is located beneath the basal membrane and connects the glandular epithelium to the cuticle. The sizes and shapes of the secretory epithelial cells vary depending on the species.
Conclusion: While histology elucidates the structural organization of scorpion venom glands, integrating histological findings with proteomic and histochemical approaches would provide a more comprehensive understanding of venom composition and interspecific variation.
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9. Philip Brownell, Gary Polis (2001) Scorpi-on Biology and Research. Oxford Uni¬ver-sity Press. London.
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12. Quiroga M, Marval M, Parrilla-Alvarez P, Desousa L (1998) Tityus caripitensis n. sp. scorpion venom gland histology. Toxi¬con. 36(1): 1269.
13. Kanwar U, Sharma S, Nagpal N (1981) Mor¬phological and cytochemical studies on the venom secreting cells of the scorpion, Bu¬thus famulus. J Anim Morphol Physiol. 28(1–2): 206–209.
14. Mazurkiewicz JE, Bertke EM (1972) Ultra¬structure of the venom gland of the scor¬pion, Centruroides sculpturatus (Ewing). J Morphol. 137(3): 365–383.
15. Jarrar B, Al-Rowaily M (2008) Histology and histochemistry of the venom appa-ratus of the black scorpion Androctonus crassi¬cauda (Olivier, 1807)(Scorpiones: Buthi¬dae). J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis. 14(3): 514–526.
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17. Ahmed ST (2015) Morphology and histol-ogy of venom gland of Scorpio maurus kruglovi (Birula, 1910) (Scorpionidae: Scor¬piones). Zanco J Pure Appl Sci. 27(5): 59–62.
18. Yigit N, Benli M (2008) The venom gland of the scorpion species Euscorpius min-grelicus (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae): mor-phological and ultrastructural charac¬ter¬i-za¬tion. J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis. 14(3): 466–480.
19. Taib N, Jarrar B (1993) Histological and his¬tochemical characterization of the ven-om apparatus of Palestine yellow scor-pion, Leiurus quinquestriatus. Trop Zool. 6(1): 143–152.
20. Yigit N, Benli M (2010) Fine structural anal¬ysis of the stinger in venom appa¬ratus of the scorpion Euscorpius min¬grel¬icus (Scor¬pi¬ones: Euscorpiidae). J Ven¬om Anim Tox¬ins Incl Trop Dis. 16(1): 76–86.
21. Yigit N, Benli M (2009) Fine structure of venom glands of the scorpion Mesobu¬thus gibbosus (Brullé, 1832)(Scorpiones: Buthi¬dae). Acta Zool Bulg. 61: 297–306.
22. Barahoei H, Navidpour S, Aliabadian M, Siahsarvie R, Mirshamsi O (2020) Scor-pions of Iran (Arachnida: Scorpiones): An¬notated checklist, DELTA database and iden¬tification key. J Insect Bio¬divers. 6(4): 375–474.
23. Al-Azawii ZN (2020) The measurement and histological study of the venom gland and aculus sting in Iraqi Scorpio maurus Lin¬naeus, 1758. Int J Pharm Res. 12(4): 825–828.
24. Carleton HM, Drury RAB, Wallington EA (1980) Carleton's Histological Tech¬nique. Oxford University Press.
25. Zhao Z-L, Shu T, Feng X-Q (2016) Study of biomechanical, anatomical and physi¬o-logical properties of scorpion stingers for developing biomimetic materials. Ma¬ter Sci Eng. 58: 1112–1121.
26. Malek SRA (2009) A study of a scorpion cuticle: I. The structure and staining reac-tions of the fully formed cuticle of Bu¬thus quinquestriatus (H. and amp; E.). Proc Linn Soc. 175(2): 101–116.
27. Locke M (1961) Pore canals and related structures in insect cuticle. J Cell Biol. 10 (4): 589–618.
28. RooT TM, Bowerman RF (1981) The scor-pion walking leg motor system: muscle fine structure. Comp Biochem Physiol. Part A Mol. 69(1): 73–78.
29. Bettini S (1978) Arthropod Venoms. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-45501-8.
30. Halse SA PP, Cockson A, Zwicky KT (1980) Observations on the morphology and his¬tochemistry of the venom glands of a scor¬pion, Urodacus novaehollandiae Pe¬ters (Scorpionidae). Aust J Zool. 28(2): 185–194.
31. Keegan HL, Lockwood W (1971) Secre-tory epithelium in venom glands of two spe¬cies of scorpion of the genus Centru-roid¬es marx. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 20(5): 770–785.
32. Junqua C, Vachon M (1968) Les arachnid-es venimeux et leurs venins: état actuel des recherches. Acad Royale des Scienc¬es d'Outr-Mer, Classe des Sciences Na-turelles et Medicales, N.S., XVII-5, Brux-elles.
2. Cheng D, Dattaro J, Yakobi R (2002) Scor-pion sting. E-med J. 3: 1–29.
3. Mashhadi I, Kavousi Z, Peymani P, Salman S, Ramhormozi Z, Keshavarz K (2017) Economic burden of scorpion sting and snake bite from a social perspective in Iran. Shiraz E Med. 18: e57573.
4. Rein JO (2025) The Scorpion Files. Avail¬a-ble at: www.ntnu.no/ub/scorpion-files.
5. Ortiz E, Gurrola GB, Schwartz EF, Possani LD (2015) Scorpion venom components as potential candidates for drug develop-ment. Toxicon. 93: 125–135.
6. Dehghani R, Djadid ND, Shahbazzadeh D, Bigdelli S (2009) Introducing Comp¬sobu-thus matthiesseni (Birula, 1905) scorpion as one of the major stinging scorpions in Khuzestan, Iran. Toxicon. 54(3): 272–275.
7. Salabi F, Jafari H (2022) Differential ven-om gland gene expression analysis of ju-ve¬nile and adult scorpions Androctonus cras¬sicauda. BMC Genomics. 23(1): 636.
8. Sugumaran M (2022) Insect cuticle - Chitin, Catecholamine and Chemistry of Com¬plexation. Academic Press Inc. p. 390.
9. Philip Brownell, Gary Polis (2001) Scorpi-on Biology and Research. Oxford Uni¬ver-sity Press. London.
10. Halse, Prideaux P, Cockson A, Zwicky K (1980) Observations on the Morphology and Histochemistry of the Venom Glands of a Scorpion, Urodacus Novaehollan¬diae Peters (Scorpionidae). Aust J Zool. 28(2): 185–194.
11. Soliman BA, Shoukry NM, Mohallal ME, Fetaih HA (2013) Fine structure of the stinger, histology and histochemistry of the venom gland in the scorpion An-droctonus amoreuxi (Buthidae). J Basic Appl Zool. 66(2): 41–46.
12. Quiroga M, Marval M, Parrilla-Alvarez P, Desousa L (1998) Tityus caripitensis n. sp. scorpion venom gland histology. Toxi¬con. 36(1): 1269.
13. Kanwar U, Sharma S, Nagpal N (1981) Mor¬phological and cytochemical studies on the venom secreting cells of the scorpion, Bu¬thus famulus. J Anim Morphol Physiol. 28(1–2): 206–209.
14. Mazurkiewicz JE, Bertke EM (1972) Ultra¬structure of the venom gland of the scor¬pion, Centruroides sculpturatus (Ewing). J Morphol. 137(3): 365–383.
15. Jarrar B, Al-Rowaily M (2008) Histology and histochemistry of the venom appa-ratus of the black scorpion Androctonus crassi¬cauda (Olivier, 1807)(Scorpiones: Buthi¬dae). J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis. 14(3): 514–526.
16. Navidpour S, Gharagozloyan MM, Pousty I (2018) Histological study on venom gland apparatus in Odontobuthus doriae (Scor¬pions: Buthidae), Scorpio maurus Tow¬sendi (Scorpiones: Scorpionidea) and Hemiscor¬pius lepturus (Scorpions: Hemiscor¬pidea) from Iran. J Zool Res. 2(4): 29–34.
17. Ahmed ST (2015) Morphology and histol-ogy of venom gland of Scorpio maurus kruglovi (Birula, 1910) (Scorpionidae: Scor¬piones). Zanco J Pure Appl Sci. 27(5): 59–62.
18. Yigit N, Benli M (2008) The venom gland of the scorpion species Euscorpius min-grelicus (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae): mor-phological and ultrastructural charac¬ter¬i-za¬tion. J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis. 14(3): 466–480.
19. Taib N, Jarrar B (1993) Histological and his¬tochemical characterization of the ven-om apparatus of Palestine yellow scor-pion, Leiurus quinquestriatus. Trop Zool. 6(1): 143–152.
20. Yigit N, Benli M (2010) Fine structural anal¬ysis of the stinger in venom appa¬ratus of the scorpion Euscorpius min¬grel¬icus (Scor¬pi¬ones: Euscorpiidae). J Ven¬om Anim Tox¬ins Incl Trop Dis. 16(1): 76–86.
21. Yigit N, Benli M (2009) Fine structure of venom glands of the scorpion Mesobu¬thus gibbosus (Brullé, 1832)(Scorpiones: Buthi¬dae). Acta Zool Bulg. 61: 297–306.
22. Barahoei H, Navidpour S, Aliabadian M, Siahsarvie R, Mirshamsi O (2020) Scor-pions of Iran (Arachnida: Scorpiones): An¬notated checklist, DELTA database and iden¬tification key. J Insect Bio¬divers. 6(4): 375–474.
23. Al-Azawii ZN (2020) The measurement and histological study of the venom gland and aculus sting in Iraqi Scorpio maurus Lin¬naeus, 1758. Int J Pharm Res. 12(4): 825–828.
24. Carleton HM, Drury RAB, Wallington EA (1980) Carleton's Histological Tech¬nique. Oxford University Press.
25. Zhao Z-L, Shu T, Feng X-Q (2016) Study of biomechanical, anatomical and physi¬o-logical properties of scorpion stingers for developing biomimetic materials. Ma¬ter Sci Eng. 58: 1112–1121.
26. Malek SRA (2009) A study of a scorpion cuticle: I. The structure and staining reac-tions of the fully formed cuticle of Bu¬thus quinquestriatus (H. and amp; E.). Proc Linn Soc. 175(2): 101–116.
27. Locke M (1961) Pore canals and related structures in insect cuticle. J Cell Biol. 10 (4): 589–618.
28. RooT TM, Bowerman RF (1981) The scor-pion walking leg motor system: muscle fine structure. Comp Biochem Physiol. Part A Mol. 69(1): 73–78.
29. Bettini S (1978) Arthropod Venoms. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-45501-8.
30. Halse SA PP, Cockson A, Zwicky KT (1980) Observations on the morphology and his¬tochemistry of the venom glands of a scor¬pion, Urodacus novaehollandiae Pe¬ters (Scorpionidae). Aust J Zool. 28(2): 185–194.
31. Keegan HL, Lockwood W (1971) Secre-tory epithelium in venom glands of two spe¬cies of scorpion of the genus Centru-roid¬es marx. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 20(5): 770–785.
32. Junqua C, Vachon M (1968) Les arachnid-es venimeux et leurs venins: état actuel des recherches. Acad Royale des Scienc¬es d'Outr-Mer, Classe des Sciences Na-turelles et Medicales, N.S., XVII-5, Brux-elles.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 19 No 2 (2025) | |
| Section | Original Article | |
| Keywords | ||
| Scorpion; Telson histology; Venom gland; Fars; Khuzestan | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Soltan-Alinejad P, Kargar-Jahromi H, Karimi F, Azizi K. Comparative Histological Characterization of the Venom Apparatus in Five Iranian Scorpion Species. J Arthropod Borne Dis. 2025;19(2):147-156.
