Leopard Geckos Eublepharis macularius have become so popular no doubt in large part to their gentle disposition towards handling and their ease of breeding. This of course was not always the case and changed quickly when herpetoculturists discovered that the genetics could be relatively easily manipulated as could sex determination.
The taxonomy of the genus Pandinus is one that currently holds within it 24 species,[i] three of which are readily available in the herpetoculture industry. Pandinus imperator, P. cavimanus, & P. viatorus are the most common available species when it comes to African scorpions. The P. imperator is the Emperor scorpion, which this article covers. The two other species that are commonly found for sale are the P. cavimanus, which is normally sold under the name of “Tasmanian Red Claw Scorpion” while the other P. viatorus is commonly sold as the “African Red Claw Scorpion.” These other two species are somewhat easily identified because they are an accurate physical representation of their common names and they have an obvious reddish hue to their chela or front claws.
