I got this idea from Doug Taron over at Gossamer Tapestry, who credits Steve Borichevsky at Shooting my Universe for an occasional feature called Forgotten Photo Friday (hopefully my use of the alternative spelling “Foto” won’t be considered too presumptuous). Perfect timing, as I recently ran across these photos of Centruroides vittatus (striped bark scorpion) that I took last fall after finding him secreted under a rock in a dolomite glade at White River Balds Natural Area in extreme southwest Missouri. One other photo from the series did make it onto the blog last year – an extreme closeup of his seemingly “smiling” face (see A face only a mother could love), and while these photos are less extreme, I think they still deserve to be shared nevertheless.
One thing that strikes me about this individual is how marvelously well-matched is his coloration with that of the surrounding rocks – a perfect example of the cryptic coloration that characterizes most members of the family (Buthidae) to which this species belongs.
Photo Details: Canon 50D w/ 100mm macro lens (ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f/13-16), Canon MT-24EX flash (1/4 ratio) w/ Sto-Fen. Typical post-processing (levels, minor cropping, unsharp mask).
Copyright © Ted C. MacRae 2010
Filed under: Arachnida, Scorpiones Tagged: arachnids, entomology, Missouri, nature, science, scorpions
