• 14 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Body Parts of a Scorpion

A scorpion from above, then the underside of its body.

Body Parts of a Scorpion

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Pincers (chelae)
  2. Tail (metasoma)
  3. Stinger
  4. Legs
  5. Median eyes
  6. Pedipalps
  7. Chelicerae
  8. Carapace
  9. Mesosoma (pre-abdomen)
  10. Telson
  11. Lateral eyes
  12. Pectines
  13. Book lungs
  14. Sternites

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-05 from our own geometry: a generic scorpion with jointed legs and pedipalps, a keeled five-ringed tail and, on the underside, the coxae, sternum, pectines and sternites. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a tarantula

All 14 parts on the diagram

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From above 11

  1. Pincers (chelae) The claws on the ends of the pedipalps. They grab prey.
  2. Tail (metasoma) The narrow rear part of the body, in five rings.
  3. Stinger The curved point at the tip of the telson.
  4. Legs Four pairs of walking legs, joined to the front of the body.
  5. Median eyes A pair of eyes on top of the carapace.
  6. Pedipalps The two arms that end in the pincers. They are not legs.
  7. Chelicerae A pair of small pincer-like mouthparts at the front.
  8. Carapace The shield over the cephalothorax, the front part of the body.
  9. Mesosoma (pre-abdomen) The broad part of the abdomen, in seven segments.
  10. Telson The last piece of the tail: a bulb that carries the stinger.
  11. Lateral eyes Small eyes along the carapace's front corners.

The underside 3

  1. Pectines A pair of comb-like sense organs on the underside.
  2. Book lungs Four pairs of breathing organs. Each opens by a slit.
  3. Sternites The plates that armor the underside of the mesosoma.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two of these use it: (1) Wikipedia, Scorpion, Morphology, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpion (cephalothorax or prosoma, carapace, the two eyes on top and the pairs along the front corners, chelicerae, pedipalps with chelae commonly called claws or pincers, four pairs of walking legs, mesosoma or pre-abdomen, sternites, pectines, book lungs, metasoma or tail of five segments, telson, stinger); (2) University of California Statewide IPM Program, Pest Notes: Scorpions, https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74110.html (two pincers, four pairs of legs, a long segmented tail ending in a stinger, two eyes in the center and more along the margin); (3) J. H. Comstock, A Manual for the Study of Insects, The Scorpions, https://archive.org/details/rnanualforstudyof00coms_0 (cephalothorax, the pre-abdomen of seven segments, the tail-like post-abdomen of five, the sting, pincers on the palpi and mandibles, eyes, four pairs of lung sacs, the comb-like organs); (4) L. A. Esposito and others, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 415 (2017), https://archive.org/details/systematicrevis415espo (carapace, median ocelli, chelicerae, pedipalps, chela, legs, mesosoma, sternites, pectines, metasoma, telson, aculeus). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-05 from our own geometry: a generic scorpion with jointed legs and pedipalps, a keeled five-ringed tail and, on the underside, the coxae, sternum, pectines and sternites. The arrangement of the underside was checked against the ventral view of Palamnaeus indus in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition (1911), article Arachnida, by E. Ray Lankester, public domain (Wikimedia Commons, File:1911 Britannica-Arachnida-Palamnaeus indus3.png); nothing was traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The body of a scorpion has two main parts. The front part, under the carapace, carries the pincers and eight legs. The abdomen is a broad mesosoma followed by a narrow tail that ends in the telson and stinger.

Read the full guide

From above, then underneath

Numbers 1 to 5 are the parts everyone knows: the pincers, the tail, the stinger, the legs and the median eyes. Numbers 6 to 11 are the scientific names on the same view: the pedipalps, the chelicerae, the carapace, the mesosoma, the telson and the lateral eyes. Numbers 12 to 14 are on the underside: the pectines, the book lungs and the sternites.

  • The pincers are not legs. They are the ends of the pedipalps.
  • Count the tail: five rings, then the telson.

Questions and answers

How many legs does a scorpion have?

Eight. A scorpion has four pairs of walking legs, all joined to the front part of the body. The two big arms with pincers are pedipalps, not legs.

Is a scorpion an insect?

No. A scorpion is an arachnid, like a spider. It has eight legs and a body in two main parts, and it has no antennae.

What are the pectines of a scorpion?

A pair of comb-like organs on the underside of the body, just behind the legs. They are sense organs.

How many eyes does a scorpion have?

Two median eyes on top of the carapace, and usually two to five pairs of small lateral eyes along its front corners.

What is the tail of a scorpion called?

The metasoma. It is the narrow rear part of the abdomen: five segments, then the telson, the bulb that carries the stinger.

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