What is the scientific name of the deathstalker scorpion?

The scientific name of the deathstalker scorpion is Leiurus quinquestriatus.

Leiurus quinquestriatus is a yellowish scorpion in the family Buthidae, native to parts of North Africa and the Middle East. Its scientific name is often translated roughly as “five-striped smooth-tail,” referring to features of its body and tail. The common name deathstalker reflects its medically important venom, although the species’ sting is not uniformly fatal and outcomes vary with the victim’s age, health, dose, and access to treatment.

The species is frequently confused with other yellow scorpions, and “deathstalker” is also used loosely in the exotic-animal trade for related Leiurus species. That is why the binomial name is more reliable than a common name. Its venom contains neurotoxins that affect ion channels; some components have been investigated in biomedical research, including compounds related to tumor-targeting studies.

Taxonomy adds a wrinkle: in 2014, the former subspecies Leiurus quinquestriatus hebraeus was elevated to the separate species Leiurus hebraeus. As a result, older references may use the name L. quinquestriatus more broadly than modern classifications do. Nevertheless, for the classic deathstalker species named in standard references and trivia sources, Leiurus quinquestriatus is the canonical answer.