Sand Specialists

Scorpions

The peninsula of Baja California is considered to be one of the most diverse places in the world for scorpions. Our team regularly finds scorpions at night out on the dunes. Some of the species are habitat generalists and can be found throughout the peninsula, but others are sand specialists and may be restricted to just a few dune systems. Vejovoidus longuinguis (pictured above) is a dune specialist only found in the western coast dunes of the mid-peninsula. They are incredibly abundant in some dunes of that area. Williams (1980) is a good starting resource to learn more about the scorpions of the peninsula.

Darkling beetles

One of the best examples of dune endemism in the peninsula can be found in the darkling beetle genus Eusattus (pictured above). There are around 40 species known from the western United States and Mexico. These flightless beetles can be very narrowly endemic to small areas of dunes. For example, E. arenarius is only known from the dunes around Laguna Manuela, while E. ciliatus is restricted to the dunes near San Quintin. Doyen (1984) is a good resource for learning more about the genus.

Flower-loving flies

Coming soon.

Tiger beetles

Coming soon.

Sand wasps

Coming soon.

Spiders

Coming soon.

Scarab beetles

Coming soon.

Antlions

Coming soon.