BIOGEOGRAPHIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC-CHANGES IN THE DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF SCORPIONS INHABITING THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION IN NORTHERN ISRAEL

A recent survey of the scorpion fauna in the Mediterranean region of n orthern Israel, has shown that the desert buthid, Leiurus quinquestria tus, formerly restricted to the arid and semi-arid regions in southern and eastern Israel, has penetrated through the Jordan Valley deep int o the Mediterranean region, reaching into the northern Galil Mountains . At the same time, the oakwood scorpionid, Scorpio maurius fuscus, fo rmerly the most abundant scorpion in the Mediterranean region, showed a marked decline in numbers. Various aspects of this apparent coloniza tion and replacement in the scorpion fauna are discussed.