Scorpions have strange joints that can simultaneously bend and twist

Scorpions' tail joints both bend and twist at once Scorpion tails can simultaneously twist and bend thanks to unusual joints, which could inspire new kinds of robots. A detailed analysis of the scorpion tail reveals that its joints move simultaneously in ways similar to both a door hinge and a rotating wheel, providing for highly precise sting strikes, all the while allowing body tissues to run through its hollow structure. "Nobody has ever seen a joint like this before, so it's really fascinating," says Alice Günther at the University of Rostock in Germany. After investigating dozens of scorpions representing 16 species, Günther and her colleagues ran microscopic computed tomography (CT) scans of the five tail segments of a laboratory-bred adult female Mesobuthus gibbosus scorpion, a species that has tails typical of the vast majority of scorpions. They used the images to create 3D digital and print models that provided more practical views of the arachnid's tail joint, which evolved into its current form 400 million years ago.