Emperor scorpion
Pandinus imperator (C.L.Koch, 1841)
Status not recordedscorpions
The emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator) is a species in the family Scorpionidae, order Scorpiones. It has been recorded in 20 countries, most often in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
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Quick facts about the emperor scorpion
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Recorded in
- 20 countriessrc for Recorded in
Where does the emperor scorpion live?
Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF. This shows where the species has been recorded, including zoos and introduced populations. It is not a definitive range.
The emperor scorpion has been recorded in 20 countries, from 130 records.
- None on record
- 1–9
- 10–99
- 100–999
- 1,000+
The same figures as a list, most records first
What is the emperor scorpion?
The emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator) is a species of scorpion native to rainforests and savannas in West Africa. It is one of the largest scorpions in the world and lives for six to eight years. Its body is black, but like other scorpions it glows pastel green or blue under ultraviolet light. It is a popular species in the pet trade and is protected by CITES to prevent over-collecting that might affect the species' survival.
Wikipedia contributors, “Emperor scorpion”, Wikipedia (revision 1371206856), retrieved 2026-11-11. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0; this block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the emperor scorpion endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the emperor scorpion classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classArachnida
- orderScorpiones
- familyScorpionidae
- genusPandinus
- SpeciesPandinus imperator (C.L.Koch, 1841)
Names in other languages (9)
- KaiserskorpionGerman
- Escorpião imperadorPortuguese
- KeizerschorpioenDutch
- KejsarskorpionSwedish
- ダイオウサソリJapanese
- 帝王蠍Chinese
- عقرب إمبراطوريArabic
- императорский скорпионRussian
- Scorpione imperatoreItalian
GBIFWikidataWikipediaNCBI TaxonomyEncyclopedia of LifeiNaturalist
Relatives of the emperor scorpion
Other species in the same class Arachnida.
Black widow spider
Latrodectus mactans
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
Where does the emperor scorpion live?
The emperor scorpion has openly licensed sighting records from 20 countries on GBIF. The most records come from Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Nigeria. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.
What kind of animal is the emperor scorpion?
The emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator) belongs to the family Scorpionidae in the order Scorpiones.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0 · live API 2026-11-11
GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · live API 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base. - GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only) · CC BY 4.0 · live API 2026-11-11
GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records. - Wikimedia Commons · Per file · live API 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file. - English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · live API 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/emperor-scorpion
“Emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/emperor-scorpion.
@misc{emperor_scorpion_2026,
title = {Emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/emperor-scorpion},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}