Liocheles australasiae

Liocheles australasiae, the dwarf wood scorpion, is a species of scorpion belonging to the family Hormuridae.

Distribution
This species is present in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Yaeyama Islands (Japan), China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Mariana Islands, Indonesia, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and French Polynesia.

Description
This small scorpion has the total length of 22 to 36 mm. Patella of pedipalps with 3 ventral trichobothria. Body uniformly reddish to yellowish brown. Telson yellow. Median and three lateral pigmented eyes present, which are not troglobitic. Chelicerae are yellowish brown, and reticulated. Carapace without carinae. but punctate and bears a straight median longitudinal groove. There are 4 to 8 pectinal teeth. Metasomal segments are sparsely setose and finely punctate. Pedipalps also covered by granules. Ventrum of pedipalp is punctate. In males, the fingers of chela are conspicuously flexed.

Most of the populations are parthenogenetic, where they can produce young without males. In Sri Lanka, three females were discovered from Bentota, Galle, without a male, but all specimens were females or juveniles. Specimens are observed inside a stone wall and under old bark of branches and also in dry leaves and under the flower pots in home garden.