Little Marbled Scorpion Lychas marmoreus

The Little Marbled Scorpion is a relatively small species with a total body length (including the tail) of about 30 mm. As its common name implies, it has a dark brown marbling pattern on a light brown background. This marbling occurs over the body, legs and tail. It is widespread in southern Australia, and is one of the three known species of scorpions found in the greater Melbourne region.

Little Marbled Scorpion
Photographer: Dr Ken Walker / Source: Museum Victoria

It is usually found living under stones or amongst plant litter on the ground. However it is occasionally found sheltering under bark of standing trees. Little is known about the biology of this species.

The sting of the Little Marbled Scorpion can cause inflammation and pain for several hours, and medical advice should be sought.

Your comments

Hey - we found many of these scorpions in Raglan near Beaufort Victoria. Can you tell us what we can feed it so we can keep it in a classroom for a week please

Hi there, Melissa. We can't advise about keeping native species in the classroom, as these species should not be removed from the wild. If you would like to keep an animal in the classroom, you will need to source it from a professional breeder. Further information is available from the Department of Sustainability and the Environment, who publish a list of species that are suitable for non-invasive observation in schools. Hope this helps!

i found,i think? one of these little fellas on the inside of a log in a termites nest,in south east qld.is this species found this far north?if not is there any species in south east qld that look similiar,any info would be great,cheers.

Hi Josh, the book 'Spiders and Scorpions commonly found in Victoria' published in 2003, states that the Little Marbled Scorpion is found in the ACT, NSW, southern end of the NT, SA, Victoria and the southern half of WA. I am not sure whether the species has been verified in Queensland since this book was published. The best place to try would be the Qeensland Museum at this location. Queensland Museum Inquiry Service

Hi Josh, yes this species is actually found in queensland ;) aswell, there is alot of different forms and colourations so it may look a bit different to the one in this picture

josh there is the marbled scorpion where you thought you found one

I have found one in the kitchen and one in the pool still alive when I got him/her out. Are they common in the warrandte area? Are they harmful to dogs & cats?

Hi Kathy, scorpions can be common in parts of Melbourne, but as they are nocturnal, usually small and often well camouflaged tend to go unnoticed. Scorpions have no interest in pets; if the scorpions are in the house they will be looking for small invertebrates to feed on. A pet may be stung if it stood on or started patting or playing with a scorpion. We are not aware of scorpion stings posing a serious threat to the welfare of pets, although it would be painful and something that the pet would probably make sure it didn't do again.

Hi, just found one of these under my dogs bed in my back garden in Western Australia. I've also got a young baby, would it be harmful to my dog and baby if either had of been bitten? Sorry just read your answer above to Kathy regarding pets. I've took a close up photo of the one I found today if you are interested in seeing it to confirm if it is the little marbled scorpion.

Hi Hayley, you are welcome to send an image to discoverycentre@museum.vic.gov.au and we can attempt an identification. Sometimes you need to be able to see the underside of the scorpion so we may not be able to be definite from an image.

Hey out there! I found three of these little guys in sydney. they are a darker shade, though. One of these pricks stung me, and it hurt for like 2 hours. i didn't seek any medical advice or anything, 'cause it didn't swell. it only went red.

Hi, We just came home from a 3 day holiday and found a 2cm scorpion in the bathroom. We think it is a marbled scorpion and were wondering if this is a normal area to find them and if we should look out for more? We live in Perth WA.

Hi Sean, thanks for your question. We've checked with our Live Exhibits team who have told us that these can indeed be found in this locality. You can see a distribution map for them in the book A Guide to Keeping Australian Scorpions in Captivity by Mark Newton, which you may be able to find in your local library or order through a bookshop.

Hi Hayley, According to Lou Koch's 1977 paper (citation below) there has only ever been one unconfirmed death (a baby girl) from Lychas marmoreus, in Pemberton in 1929. I have been stung by this species a few times and it does hurt like hell, though. If one of my kids was stung I would seek medical advice immediately (to stop the screaming if nothing else!) Ref: Koch, L.E. (1977). The taxonomy, Geographic Distribution and Evolutionary Radiation of Australo-Papuan Scorpions. Rec. West. Aust. Mus., vol. 5 (2), pp.83-367.

Hi there, We just found a tiny scorpion on the floor in our sitting room. We live in Castlemaine, Vic. It was only about 1cm long and did not look dark enough to be any of the other scorpions pictured. Could it be the Little Marbled Scorpion?

Hi Jenny,

We cannot identify the scorpion without seeing it. Could you please send a photo to the Discovery Centre so we can forward it to our Scientists?

@ Mason, yeah I found one of these little guys in my bathtub lastnight. I'm also in Sydney and it was a slightly darker shade than the images I can find on the web. Same shape and marbling pattern though and about 3cm in length. I've got a young son and a very curious dog, are these scorpions more active at certain times of the year?

One of these just stung Stormy, our kitten, started sneezing, seems ok?? help anyone? :P

Hi Chris, yes you are right – invertebrates such as scorpions are more active wanderers during the warmer months of the year. During winter they tend to find a retreat under bark or other material, depending on the species to sit and wait for the weather to warm up again.

Hi Toby,

Marbled Scorpions are common, particularly in the Melbourne region. They are possibly the most urbanised type of scorpion in Australia. Family pets are the ones most commonly encountering these scorpions, and therefore are bitten reasonably regularly. The venom of this group of scorpions is fast acting and any reaction should be obvious quite quickly. I don’t know of any reports of cats or dogs showing major symptoms from a bite from this species, only short-term minor symptoms such as you outlined. If you’re at all concerned about the health of the kitten you should take it for veterinary advice, but there are no historical records to suggest there should be any other problems.

Guess they couldn't just answer M. Pizzinga's question without getting all political. It sounds to me like they are not catching them for sport but for safety reasons. I could be wrong but is there any harm in keeping one caught in the school yard and feeding it for a week before releasing it!? The scorpion gets a week off from having to hunt and the children learn. How hard is it to tell her that they will eat any kind of insect you can buy at the local pet shop? Jeesh!

I got bitten twice on the foot last monday by what looked to be this scorpion. I still have inflamation and my foot is still really hot in the area of the bite and it is just over a week later. I live in queensland and have been to the doctor but they didn't know much about it. Is there anything more that i can do :( It is extremely painful to walk on.

I capture this one in my home hobart.TAS. my wife string by something one week ago, we tried to find what but we coundn't. however yesterday we found this so we really woory about this.

I live in south west W.A. on a rural property where many interesting creatures can be found, especially in spring.I found this site when looking to identify the small scorpion which found it's way into my bed (and trousers)and stung me 3 times on the leg. I wouldn't say the bites were very painfull at all; less than a bee sting for example, with small raised welts which dissappeared after about an hour. I captured the little fella and in the morning it appeared to be dead. I wondered if it was playing doggo, and sure enough when released outside it was off like a shot.I missed my chance to get a photo though.

Just found a marble scorpion in my bathroom, it is about 35mm long. What would be the effects to my dogs or my children?

Hi Tristan,

If your children are stung by the marbled scorpion they may experience inflammation and pain for several hours. We would recommend that you seek medical advice if this was to occur, and for your children to avoid contact with the marbled scorpion. In regards to your pets, scorpions generally have no interest in them. A pet may be stung if it stands on the scorpion or it was playing with it. The venom of this type of scorpion is fast acting and any reaction should be obvious quite quickly.

Hi, i have just found a marbled scorpion in my bed, it has come in on the dog. We live in the Great Southern WA.

why isnt the biology of this species of scorpion very well known?

Hi Travis, good question, the reason why not much is known of the biology is that there are hundreds of thousands of species of invertebrates and a limited number of experts trying to study them all. Often the species that we know the most about are the ones which pose problems for us, whether that be to our health or economy. Examples of this would be things like species of mosquito which carry malaria, or locusts which can damage crops.

Hi, in the last few days we have found 2 marbled scorpions both in the kitchen. We live in the Dandenong ranges in Victoria. I'm just wondering how on earth they get inside and if they will keep coming as we have two dogs and walk around barefoot.

Hi Ms Mountain, you shouldn't need to be too concerned. Scorpions can be brought into the house under the bark of firewood. They can also wander under the door while looking for food. They have no interest in people or pets but if you stand on one in bare feet you may be stung. You may want to try some of those draught excluders if you have large and obvious spaces under doors. If you get up in the night for a drink it may also pay to put on slippers or turn on lights and make sure there are no scorpions on the floor. There are postings above relating to pets and scorpions.

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Little Marbled Scorpion Lychas marmoreus

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