Habitats
Scorpions have a wide geographical distribution and live on all major land masses except Antarctica. They were accidentally introduced to New Zealand and England by man. They have adapted to a wide variety of environments and can thus survive many extremes, such as deserts, savanna, grasslands, temperate forests, tropical forests, rain forests, intertidal zones, and even snow covered mountains over 5,500 meters in altitude. Many live in caves and one species, Alacran tartar, is found at depths of over 800 meters. They generally try to stay moist and avoid the sun which is why most are nocturnal. Some species are very habitat specific, such as Vaejovis janssi, which is the only scorpion found on the Socorro Island (at the tip of Baja California Sur). Other species can live in more broad habitats, such as Scorpio maurus. This species survives below sea level, as well as at altitudes above 3,000 meters in the Atlas Mountains (Polis 4).