Longevity of Tityus bahiensis (Perty, 1833) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in a public health vivarium in Brazil

Abstract The brown scorpion Tityus bahiensis is a species of medical importance to the state of São Paulo. Citizens who encounter scorpions in their homes bring them alive to our public health vivarium. The age of the scorpions was unknown at the time of delivery, but the time was recorded as the start of their longevity in our terrarium. All scorpions were juveniles or adult when brought to us. Some were removed from the study and transferred to another facility for venom extraction and anti-venom production. For scorpions continuing in this study, handling was minimized, and no venom extraction was done. This survival time to death is considered important because dangerous scorpions are often maintained in public health vivaria for possible venom extraction. Data collection was within the time period from 2015 to 2021, with the distinguishing features of each scorpion used for identification. The survival time for males ranged from 42 and 503 days and for females 69 and 365 days. The half-life in captivity of the received scorpions was 285 (Confidence Interval: 203 to 365) days.