The harmless ‘scorpions’

KOCHI: Have you ever heard about pseudoscorpions? These small creatures look similar to scorpions, but lack the long ‘tail’ and stinger, and are harmless. They usually live beneath tree bark and leaf litter, to protect themselves from predators.

For the first time, a research team from the Division of Arachnology, Sacred Heart College, Kochi, in collaboration with the researchers at the Museum of Nature — Zoology, Germany,analysed the distribution of pseudoscorpions in the Western ghats. The study was initiated by Jithin Johnson, a doctoral research student in the department of zoology, Sacred Heart College and its results were jointly supervised by researchers Mathew M J of Sacred Heart college and Danilo Harms and Stephanie Loria of Natural History Museum, Germany.

The study was recently published in the international journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
Mathew says, “This is the first time such a study on pseudoscorpions is carried out in India. The study provides the first biogeographical analysis of pseudoscorpions in the Western Ghats in India and also the fundamental information on the diversification of soil arthropods in this biodiversity hotspot. Unlike the scorpions, these are very small in size (1 to 5mm). It belongs to the arachnids group,” shares Mathew.
The study was done with the help of a central government funding (SERB-DST).  

Pseudoscorpions are usually of two types — litter-dwelling and those living beneath tree bark. “Some are even found in beehives. The tropical forests of the Western Ghats are home to many diverse species, especially when it comes to endemic ones,” says Aneesh Mathew Vergis, a research scholar at SH College.
“However, in Kerala, pseudoscorpions mostly live in leaf-litter and are rarely found under the bark of trees. These species hide beneath the bark of trees — mostly rubber, neem, tamarind and mango trees — to protect themselves from the predators. Except from Wayanad and Idukki, the samples were collected from all other wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala.”

Aneesh adds, from around 40 samples collected from Western Ghats in Kerala, 10 species have been identified. “The ecological importance of these creatures and their role in the food chain can only be understood if further study is conducted,” he says.

“However, it is challenging to get samples in Kerala. So far, 46 species of pseudoscorpions have been identified from the Indian peninsula. The study has discovered three new species — Metawithius keralensis (Johnson et. al 2019), Metawithius gavi (Mathew and Joseph 2022), Afrosternophorus longus (Mathew and Joseph 2021).”