Envenomation caused by Rhopalurus amazonicus Lourenço, 1986 (Scorpiones, Buthidae) in Pará State, Brazil

• Main Authors: Deyanira Fuentes-Silva, Alfredo P Santos Jr, Joacir Stolarz Oliveira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SciELO 2015-01-01
• Series: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases
• Subjects: Scorpion sting; Rhopalurus amazonicus; Venomous animals; Envenomation; Brazilian Amazon; Pará
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1678-91992014000200509&lng=en&tlng=en

Scorpions, mainly those belonging to the genus Tityus cause many deaths and injuries in Brazil, with tens of thousands of envenomations notified every year. However, injuries involving other scorpion species are scarcely registered. Among the sixteen species of the genus Rhopalurus, Thorell, 1876, described up to date, nine are found in this country, with only a confirmed case of human envenomation provoked by R. agamemnonKoch, 1839. The present case reports, for the first time, a case of scorpion sting in a human victim involving Rhopalurus amazonicus, endemic species of the west region of the Pará state, Amazon, Brazil. The symptoms of envenomation were local pain and paresthesia. This study contributes to develop the knowledge on venomous scorpions, particularly those that may cause envenomations in this region.