There is much to be discovered still in terms of Arachnid diversity at the Granite Mountains, as witnessed by the checklist below.  Currently, our list contains 24 taxa representing Scorpions, Pseudoscorpions, Solpugids, Harvestmen, Ticks & Mites. The checklist below is available for download and represents the taxa found within the Granite Mountains bioregion. Some of the scorpions are truly sand dwellers, so while they may occur on some of the sandy bajadas at the lower elevations around the Granite Mtns, they are more likely to be found at the Kelso Dunes.  The list was first compiled by Rick Vetter (UC Riverside Entomology Dept.) around 2003 based on his collections and knowledge of the area.  We have added a handful of taxa over the years based on additional vouchers and observations, however, this list is still woefully incomplete.  All taxa have been vouchered, unless otherwise noted. Taxa that have only been observed (marked with *) are only added to the list if there is a certain level of confidence on the ID and it represents a taxon that had not previously been recorded here. A taxon labeled with “indet. sp.” indicates it was indeterminable beyond a certain rank. Each scientific name is linked to a profile page on the Iowa State University BugGuide or to their online record. Common names are linked to iNaturalist taxon pages.  Additional information on Scorpions can be found at the Scorpion Files, including citations for the taxonomic work leading to some of the recent changes, most of which is not universally agreed upon.  Our choice of taxonomy is not meant to favor one or the other and does not reflect the views of our contributing entomologists, it simply allows us to break the taxa into recognizable common name groups.  We also have some of these Arachnid species in our photo gallery at the bottom of the page (coming soon!).

SCORPIONES                                  SCORPIONS
Chactidae                                         Fatclaw Scorpions
Anuroctonus phaiodactylus                Swollenstinger Scorpion
* Anuroctonus pococki bajae              California Swollenstinger Scorpion
Caraboctonidae                              Hairy Scorpions
* Hadrurus arizonicus                         Desert Hairy Scorpion
Hadrurus obscurus                            Giant Hairy Scorpion
Hadrurus spadix                                Black Hairy Scorpion
Superstitioniidae
Superstitionia donensis                      Superstition Mountains Scorpion
Vaejovidae                                       Devil Scorpions
Kochius hirsuticauda                          Hairy Devil Scorpion
* Paruroctonus arenicola nudipes       Naked Sand Scorpion
Paruroctonus silvestrii                        California Common Scorpion
Smeringurus mesaensis                     Giant Sand Scorpion
Vaejovis confusus                              Yellow Devil Scorpion
Vaejovis waeringi                                Dune Devil Scorpion