Australia’s largest scorpion | Giant Darwin Scorpion (Urodacus excellens)

Australia’s largest scorpion is rarely seen, living in Australia’s sparsely populated Top End (Northern Territory). These scorpions spend the majority of their lives hidden underground, away from the harsh surface conditions.

Darwin Giant Scorpions (Urodacus excellens) live in spiral burrows excavated into sand.

The opening is difficult to spot - just a slit in the sand high enough for the scorpion to move in and out.

The officially published measurement tells us that these scorpions grow larger than 11.5cm, but various reports of larger males suggest they can grow beyond 12cm.

Males are longer than females and more commonly seen. Once they mature, they emerge from their burrows to seek females. They can be spotted on the move with the help of a UV torch.

Like all scorpions, Giant Darwin Scorpions fluoresce under ultraviolet light. It is thought that the body’s sensitivity to UV light helps the scorpion to detect and avoid it, allowing it to move away from bright illumination by the moon and find places to hide. This unnatural glow makes them easier to spot at night when they might be otherwise nearly invisible amongst the leaf litter.

While stings of large species are painful, no Australian scorpion species are known to be dangerous to humans.