---
title: "Shaggy Thicktail Scorpion"
description: "Parabuthus villosus — Insecten en spinnen. Parabuthus villosus, the black hairy thick-tailed scorpion, is a species of scorpion from southern Africa, where it ranges from the Northern Cape to Namibia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/shaggy-thicktail-scorpion
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Shaggy Thicktail Scorpion

> Parabuthus villosus — Insecten en spinnen. Parabuthus villosus, the black hairy thick-tailed scorpion, is a species of scorpion from southern Africa, where it ranges from the Northern Cape to Namibia.

- Scientific name: *Parabuthus villosus*
- Category: `insects` (Insecten en spinnen)
- Habitats: `desert` (Woestijn)
- iNaturalist observations: 468
- Wikidata: [Q2364820](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2364820)
- iNaturalist taxon: [418212](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/418212)

## Names

- en: Shaggy Thicktail Scorpion

## Countries with the most observations

NA (405), ZA (49), AO (6)

## Summary

Parabuthus villosus, the black hairy thick-tailed scorpion, is a species of scorpion from southern Africa, where it ranges from the Northern Cape to Namibia. It is the largest species of the Buthidae, measuring up to 18 cm, and its diet may include lizards and mice. The species is often active at dawn and dusk, but takes refuge by day in a variety of shelters. It resembles Parabuthus transvaalicus, which is more strictly nocturnal, less hairy and with a more easterly distribution.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabuthus_villosus

## Photo

![Shaggy Thicktail Scorpion](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/shaggy-thicktail-scorpion/medium.jpg)

Photo: mr_t_explorer · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/256377485

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/shaggy-thicktail-scorpion?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).