Posted by Eric Tuck on August 27, 2006

Q: My family and I were camping along the McKenzie River along hwy 126 in Oregon on the western side of the Cascades. I found a scorpion. I didn't know they lived on this side of the mountain especially in the snow zone. Could you help with anymore info??

Habitat: forest/open woods

State: Oregon

Habitat: forest/open woods

A: We generally think of scorpions living in Arizona or New Mexico and many people don't realize they're in Oregon and Washington state too. Threre are four species that I found that are native to Oregon. The Northern Scorpion (Paruroctonus boreus) is one species that is found in Oregon and is probably the most common. Three others also in Oregon include (Uroctonus mordax, Vaejovis confusus, and Vaejovis hirsuticauda). I don't have good information on just what kind of habitats these animals frequent but I'm assuming the one you found is typical for that habitat although it could have been transported there too by a camper or hiker. From your photo, I'm leaning to Uroctonus mordax as the species you found. You can use these scientific names to look up their photos on the web to see which one looks most like what you saw. Hope this helps.

John Wiessinger ( August 28, 2006)