The deathstalker (Leiurus quinquestriatus) is a species of scorpion, a member of the family Buthidae. It is also known as the Palestine yellow scorpion, Omdurman scorpion, Naqab desert scorpion and by many other colloquial names, which generally originate from the commercial captive trade of the animal. To eliminate confusion, especially important with potentially dangerous species, the scientific name is normally used to refer to them. The name Leiurus quinquestriatus roughly translates into English as "five-striped smooth-tail". In 2014, the subspecies L. q. hebraeus was separated from it and elevated to its own species Leiurus hebraeus. Other species of the genus Leiurus are also often referred to as "deathstalkers". Leiurus quinquestriatus is yellow, and long, with an average of . Geographic range Leiurus quinquestriatus can be found in desert and scrubland habitats ranging from North Africa through to the Middle East. Its range covers a wide sweep of territory in the Sahara, Arabian Desert, Thar Desert, and Central Asia, from Algeria and Mali in the west through to Egypt, Ethiopia, Asia Minor and the Arabian Peninsula, eastwards to Kazakhstan and western India in the northeast and southeast. Venom Neurotoxins in L. quinquestriatus venom include: Chlorotoxin Charybdotoxin, a blocker of calcium-activated potassium channels. Scyllatoxin Agitoxins types one, two and three Hazards The deathstalker is one of the most dangerous species of scorpions. Its venom is a powerful mixture of neurotoxins, with a low lethal dose. While a sting from this scorpion is extraordinarily painful, it normally would not kill a healthy adult human. However, young children, the elderly, or infirm (such as those with a heart condition and those who are allergic) are at much greater risk. Any envenomation runs the risk of anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction to the venom. A study from Israel shows a high rate of pancreatitis following envenomation. If a sting from Leiurus quinquestriatus does prove deadly, the cause of death is usually pulmonary edema. Antivenom for the treatment of deathstalker envenomations is produced by pharmaceutical companies Twyford (German) and Sanofi Pasteur (French), and by the Antivenom and Vaccine Production Center in Riyadh. Envenomation by the deathstalker is considered a medical emergency even with antivenom treatment, as its venom is unusually resistant to treatment and typically requires large doses of antivenom. In the United States and other countries outside of the typical range of the deathstalker, there is the additional complicating factor that none of the