whip scorpion

whip scorpion
n.
any of various tropical or subtropical arachnids (esp. order Uropygi) resembling the scorpion but having a long, whiplike tail at the end of the abdomen and no sting

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▪ Uropygi
      any of approximately 105 species of the arthropod class Arachnida that are similar in appearance to true scorpions except that the larger species have a whiplike telson, or tail, that serves as an organ of touch and has no stinger. The second pair of appendages, the pedipalps, are spiny pincers, and the third pair are long feelers. Whip scorpions secrete an irritating mist, which has a vinegarlike odour in Mastigoproctus giganteus, the vinegarroon (variably spelled) of the southern United States and Mexico. With its 65-mm (2 1/2-inch) body it is the largest species in this group.

      Whip scorpions are most common from India and Japan to New Guinea, although two genera occur in the New World.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Whip scorpion — Whip Whip, n. [OE. whippe. See {Whip}, v. t.] [1913 Webster] 1. An instrument or driving horses or other animals, or for correction, consisting usually of a lash attached to a handle, or of a handle and lash so combined as to form a flexible rod …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • whip scorpion — n. any of various tropical or subtropical arachnids (esp. order Uropygi) resembling the scorpion but having a long, whiplike tail at the end of the abdomen and no sting …   English World dictionary

  • whip scorpion — noun nonvenomous arachnid that resembles a scorpion and that has a long thin tail without a stinger • Syn: ↑whip scorpion • Hypernyms: ↑arachnid, ↑arachnoid • Hyponyms: ↑vinegarroon, ↑Mastigoproctus giganteus …   Useful english dictionary

  • whip-scorpion — noun nonvenomous arachnid that resembles a scorpion and that has a long thin tail without a stinger • Syn: ↑whip scorpion • Hypernyms: ↑arachnid, ↑arachnoid • Hyponyms: ↑vinegarroon, ↑Mastigoproctus giganteus …   Useful english dictionary

  • whip scorpion — noun a scorpion like arachnid with a long, slender tail. [Order Uropygi.] …   English new terms dictionary

  • whip scorpion — /wɪp ˈskɔpiən/ (say wip skawpeeuhn) noun any of various arachnids of the order Uropygi, resembling the true scorpions, but having (in the typical members) an abdomen ending in a slender whip like part …  

  • whip scorpion — noun Date: circa 1890 any of an order (Uropygi) of chiefly tropical arachnids somewhat resembling true scorpions but having a long slender caudal process and no sting …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • whip scorpion — any arachnid of the order Pedipalpa …   Medical dictionary

  • Whip — Whip, n. [OE. whippe. See {Whip}, v. t.] [1913 Webster] 1. An instrument or driving horses or other animals, or for correction, consisting usually of a lash attached to a handle, or of a handle and lash so combined as to form a flexible rod. [A]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Whip and spur — Whip Whip, n. [OE. whippe. See {Whip}, v. t.] [1913 Webster] 1. An instrument or driving horses or other animals, or for correction, consisting usually of a lash attached to a handle, or of a handle and lash so combined as to form a flexible rod …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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