Slo-Mo Whoa: Mouse Tears Off Scorpion's Head in New Video

By Stephanie Pappas, Senior Writer | April 25, 2014 12:09pm ET

A jaw-dropping new video shows a fuzzy little mouse as a fearsome fighter, attacking and killing a venomous scorpion in slow motion.

The new mouse-scorpion video, released on YouTube by Michigan State University, shows how the hamster-sized southern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys torridus) has evolved to withstand the painful stings of the Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus). According to research conducted by Michigan State University zoologist Ashlee Rowe, the mice actually transform the venom into a painkiller.

"We don't want to try to sound too cute or anything, but it is sort of like an evolutionary martial art, where the grasshopper mice are turning the tables. They're using their opponents' strength against them," Rowe said in October.

Continued

Scorpion-Eating Mice Feel No Sting

The sting of the Arizona bark scorpion is so fierce that humans say the pain is like being hit by a hammer. But the tiny grasshopper mouse shakes off the sting like it's nothing.

Now, researchers have found for the mouse, the sting really is nothing. Instead of causing pain, the scorpion venom blocks it, a fact that could lead to the development of new pain-blocking drugs for people.

"The venom actually blocks the pain signal that the venom is trying to send" to the mouse, said study researcher Ashlee Rowe of Michigan State University. "We don't want to try to sound too cute or anything, but it is sort of like an evolutionary martial art, where the grasshopper mice are turning the tables. They're using their opponents' strength against them."

Continued