BEHAVIORAL REPERTORY ANALYSIS OF Tityus stigmurus (SCORPIONES, BUTHIDAE) IN CAPTIVITY WITH EMPHASIS IN ITS TEMPORAL PATTERNS OF ACTIVITY

ARAÚJO D.S. (2), MATOS E.P.N.B. (2), CARVALHO K.M. (1), CARDI B.A. (1,2)

(1)LABORATÓRIO DE TOXINOLOGIA E NEUROFARMACOLOGIA MOLECULAR, ISCB-UECE, (2) LABORATÓRIO DE ANIMAIS PEÇONHENTOS (LAPE), ISCB-UECE.

The study of the scorpion venoms depends, amongst other things, of significant amounts of secretion material and satisfactory techniques to the maintenance of the animals in the captivity that make possible a optimal survival of the animals. In the current study, we had as the objective to verify the variations of the behavior of the captivity of the yellow scorpion Tityus stigmurus, in the periods of the day and the night, objectifying to investigate the period of higher activity of the animals. The study was made in the laboratory conditions where the animals (n=6) were kept in a terrarium with typical substratum of the environment natural (land with sand and small rocks) and observed by 16 hours between 06:00 am and 00:00 am. Six categories of activities had been determined: to rest, to explore, interactions with co-specific specimens, corporal cleanness, water ingestion and hide in the burrow. During the period of the morning, immovable animals could be observed in the surface of substratum. Hidratation and the presence of the individual in its burrows had been observed generally during the period of the afternoon. During the night, it was observed higher activity of the animals with intense exploratory behavior and contact with co-specific specimens. The nocturnal behavior of T.stigmurus seems similar to that observed in the majority of the species of scorpions. Based on this results, we could suggest Tityus stigmurus must be kept in a system of inverted circadian rhythm, where we could have access the animals most active, diminishing stress caused by the handling at rest moments (during the light of the day) to increase, thus, the survival of the animals.

KEYWORDS: scorpions, behavioral repertory, Tityus stigmurus, temporal patterns.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT: IC/UECE

CORRESPONDENCE TO: Danilo Araújo, Laboratório de Animais Peçonhentos (LAPE), Instituto Superior de Ciências Biomédicas, UECE-Av. Paranjana, 1700, Itaperi, 60.000-000, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. Phone: +55 85 31019824. E-mail: stigmurus@gmail.com