Pectines

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Pectines are peculiar appendages, quite characteristic of the scorpions which have derived them from the first book gills of the Xiphosura. After detailed studies of their ennervations, it has been suggested that the pectines act as both mechanoreceptors and chemoreceptors.

The back of pectines is made of three pieces, the proximal part the longest and the middle one the shortest. The number of teeth is different in different species and varies from four to over 30.

Using pectines the scorpions can:

- detect food;
- hold the famale close together to male in mating;
- clean the body and limbs;
- detect vibrations of the ground, giving warning of the approach of enimies or prey;
- determine whether the ground is smooth enough or hard enough for the depositing of the spermatophore.