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Differences Between Sunfishes & Scorpions

A sunfish is a fish that lives in water, in this case, the ocean, and breathes through gills. A scorpion is an arachnid that lives on land. There are 1,752 species of scorpions, and though most of them are venomous, only a few have venom potent enough to harm a human. There are only five species of sunfish, and they're fairly docile, despite their size.

Characteristics
- A grown sunfish can weigh almost 5,000 pounds and can grow to more than 10 feet long. Sunfish have no scales, but thick, rubbery skin. Their bodies end abruptly, making it look like they were cut in half. Their tail, called a clavus, acts like a rudder. They have a tiny mouth with fused teeth.
  
  Scorpions are 2 to 7 inches long. and have the hard exoskeleton of an arthropod. Their bodies are divided into a head, abdomen and tail. The tail is held curved over the animal's body and has a stinger at the end. The scorpion also has pincers and several pairs of eyes, but it still doesn't see well. The mouthparts of the scorpion are called chelicerae.
Habitat
- The ocean sunfish is found in warm waters of the Mediterranean, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Scorpions are found all over the world except Antarctica. Scorpions prefer warm, dry climates, but can sometimes be found as far north as Alberta, Canada, the Swiss Alps in Europe, or in the southern Andes in South America.
Food
- Sunfish eat plankton and may migrate to eat jellyfish. They are one of the main controls on the jellyfish population. They can also eat the soft bodies of crustaceans and mollusks, seaweed, eel larvae and flounder. They are sometimes food themselves for large sharks. Scorpions eat mostly insects and spiders. They are nocturnal and have chemical receptors on their undersides that help them track their prey. Scorpions catch creatures in their pincers and crush them, then sting them.
Reproduction
- The reproductive habits of the ocean sunfish aren't well known, but some are thought to spawn in the Sargasso Sea in the north Atlantic. The scorpion engages in an interesting courtship ritual. The male takes the female by the pincers, or her jaws, and dances her back and forth. Eventually he deposits a spermatophore on the ground, which she picks up and uses to fertilize her eggs. The female is pregnant anywhere from several months to more than a year and nourishes the larvae via a placenta. She gives birth to live young and they ride on her back until they molt for the first time.

Animals & Science