Mesobuthus martensii

Mesobuthus martensii is a species of scorpion in the family Buthidae. Its common names include Chinese scorpion, Manchurian scorpion, Chinese armor-tail scorpion and Chinese golden scorpion. Despite its common name, this scorpion is not only found in Manchuria or China, but also in Mongolia and Japan. Its preferred habitat is warm, dry areas with little vegetation. "M. martensii" can grow to about long, with females usually slightly larger, and has a life-span of about 4 to 6 years.
Taxonomic history.
This species of scorpion was first described as "Buthus martensii" by German arachnologist Ferdinand Karsch in 1879. Independently, Simon in 1880 described specimens he found in the gardens of the summer palace at Peking (present-day Beijing) as "Buthus confucius", which Karsch synonymized as "Buthus martensii" in 1881. Subsequently, in 1950, it was transferred to "Mesobuthus", a new genus established by French arachnologist Max Vachon.
Uses.
"M. martensii", especially its tail, has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for many centuries to treat various neuronal problems, such as chronic pain, paralysis, apoplexy and epilepsy. Over the past few decades, dozens of novel proteins in this scorpion's venom have been identified, cloned and investigated for clinical applications. For instance, at least 51 long-chain peptides related to the sodium channel toxins and 18 peptides related to the potassium channel toxins have been described, along with two peptides, "Bm"K AS and AS1, that act on ryanodine receptors.
Apart from having analgesic properties, "Bm"K AS is also the first long-chain scorpion peptide reported to have antimicrobial activity.
Amongst the sodium channel-specific neurotoxins, there are a number of muscle relaxants, such as makatoxin I and bukatoxin,
while "Bm"KAEP
and "Bm"K IT2 have shown anticonvulsant activity in experimental conditions, inhibiting epileptic seizures induced in rats.
"Bm"K AGAP has both analgesic and antitumor properties and recombinant proteins could potentially be used in anticancer treatments.