by Joseph Castro, Live Science Contributor | April 30, 2015 07:34am ET
Some scorpions are able to spray their venom, an ability they use defensively to try to temporarily disable predators, allowing the stinging arachnids to escape the jaws of death, a new study suggests.
From skunks to bombardier beetles, a wide range of animals spray chemicals defensively. But only a relatively few species are known to squirt highly toxic venom when threatened, most notably spitting cobras.
In the 1960s and 1970s, researchers discovered that at least seven species of the Afrotropical scorpion in the genus Parabuthus could also defensively spray venom. At the time, researchers thought this ability was reflexive, something the scorpions did uncontrollably when startled. [Watch the Venom-Spraying Scorpion (Video)]
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