Centruroides is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of scorpion

Scorpion

Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...

s belonging to the family Buthidae

Buthidae

Buthidae is the largest family of scorpions, containing about 80 genera and over 800 species as of mid-2008. Its members are known as, for example, thick-tailed scorpions and bark scorpions. There are a few very large genera , but also a high number of species-poor or monotypic ones...

. Several North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

n species are known by the common vernacular name bark scorpion. Numerous species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 are extensively found throughout the southern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

, the Antilles

Antilles

The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...

 and northern South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. Some are known for their interesting patterning or large size (among Buthidae); most if not all fluoresce

Fluorescence

Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation of a different wavelength. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed radiation...

 strongly under ultraviolet

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...

 illumination, except after moulting

Ecdysis

Ecdysis is the moulting of the cuticula in many invertebrates. This process of moulting is the defining feature of the clade Ecdysozoa, comprising the arthropods, nematodes, velvet worms, horsehair worms, rotifers, tardigrades and Cephalorhyncha...

. They contain several highly venomous species, and fatalities are known to occur.

Taxonomy

The number of species accepted as valid may vary, depending on the authority. The genus is highly speciose, containing at least 70 species:

• Centruroides alayoni Armas, 1999
• Centruroides anchorellus Armas, 1976
• Centruroides arctimanus (Armas, 1976)
• Centruroides baergi Hoffmann, 1932
• Centruroides balsasensis Ponce & Francke, 2004
• Centruroides bani Armas & Marcano Fondeur, 1987
• Centruroides baracoae Armas, 1976
• Centruroides barbudensis (Pockock, 1898)
• Centruroides bertholdii (Thorell, 1876)
• Centruroides bicolor
  Centruroides bicolor
  Centruroides bicolor is a species of bark scorpion from Central America. Its specific name "bicolor" is from the Latin meaning "two colored" and refers to the markings of this species.-Range:...
  
  (Pockock, 1898)
• Centruroides chamulaensis Hoffmann, 1932
• Centruroides chiapanensis Hoffmann, 1932
• Centruroides elegans
  Centruroides elegans
  Centruroides elegans is a scorpion species in the genus Centruroides found in Mexico.-External links:*...
  
  (Thorell, 1876)
• Centruroides exilicauda
  Centruroides exilicauda
  Centruroides exilicauda, the Baja California bark scorpion, is a species of bark scorpion found in Baja California. It is closely related to the Arizona bark scorpion , but is not considered dangerous. Previously only distinguished by geographic range, the two variants were classified in 1980 as...
  
  (Wood, 1863)
• Centruroides exilimanus Teruel & Stockwell, 2002
• Centruroides exsul (Meise, 1934)
• Centruroides farri Armas, 1976
• Centruroides flavopictus (Pocock, 1898)
• Centruroides fulvipes (Pocock, 1898)
• Centruroides galano Teruel, 2001
• Centruroides gracilis (Latreille, 1804)
• Centruroides guanensis Franganillo, 1930
• Centruroides hentzi (Banks, 1900)
• Centruroides hirsutipalpus Ponce-Saavedra & Francke, 2009
• Centruroides hoffmanni Armas, 1996
• Centruroides infamatus (C. L. Koch, 1844)
• Centruroides insulanus (Thorell, 1876)
• Centruroides jaragua Armas, 1999
• Centruroides jorgeorum Santiago-Blay, 2009
• Centruroides koesteri Kraepelin, 1912
• Centruroides limbatus
  Centruroides limbatus
  Centruroides limbatus is a species of bark scorpion from Central America. Its specific name "limbatus" is from the Latin meaning "black-edged" and refers to the colored markings of this species.-Range:...
  
  (Pocock, 1898)
• Centruroides limpidus (Karsch, 1879)
• Centruroides luceorum Armas, 1999
• Centruroides mahnerti Lourenço, 1983
• Centruroides marcanoi Armas, 1981
• Centruroides margaritatus (Gervais, 1841)
• Centruroides mariaorum Santiago-Blay, 2009
• Centruroides meisei Hoffmann, 1939
• Centruroides melanodactylus Teruel, 2001
• Centruroides morenoi Mello-Leitao, 1945
• Centruroides navarroi Teruel, 2001
• Centruroides nigrescens (Pocock, 1898)
• Centruroides nigrimanus (Pocock, 1898)
• Centruroides nigropunctatus Teruel, 2006
• Centruroides nigrovariatus (Pocock, 1898)
• Centruroides nitidus (Thorell, 1876)
• Centruroides noxius Hoffmann, 1932
• Centruroides ochraceus (Pocock, 1898)
• Centruroides orizaba Armas & Martin-Frias, 2003
• Centruroides ornatus Pocock, 1902
• Centruroides pallidiceps Pocock, 1902
• Centruroides platnicki Armas, 1981
• Centruroides pococki Sissom & Francke, 1983
• Centruroides polito Teruel, 2007
• Centruroides rileyi Sissom, 1995
• Centruroides robertoi Armas, 1976
• Centruroides sasae Santiago-Blay, 2009
• Centruroides schmidti Sissom, 1995
• Centruroides sculpturatus Ewing, 1928
• Centruroides serrano Santibanez-Lopez & Ponce-Saavedra, 2009
• Centruroides sissomi Armas, 1996
• Centruroides spectatus Teruel, 2006
• Centruroides stockwelli Teruel, 2001
• Centruroides suffusus Pocock, 1902
• Centruroides tecomanus Hoffmann, 1932
• Centruroides testaceus (De Geer, 1778)
• Centruroides thorellii (Kraepelin, 1891)
• Centruroides tuxtla Armas, 1999
• Centruroides underwoodi Armas, 1976
• Centruroides vittatus (Say, 1821)