Cretaceous Burmese Amber First Reveals the Nearly 100-Million-Year-Old Gregarious Molting Behavior in Scorpions

This study reports the first evidence of social aggregation and suspected group molting behavior in Cretaceous scorpions from Burmese amber (approximately 98.79 million years ago). Morphological observations of three scorpion exuvial fossil samples revealed that Cretaceous scorpions underwent synchronized ecdysis on resin-coated arboreal substrates—a striking contrast to the cryptic or cave-dwelling molting habits exhibited by extant scorpions. Taphonomic evidence has revealed rapid resin entombment during active exuviation, preserving exoskeletal separation patterns and postmolt aggregation. Critically, this finding confirms that scorpion gregarious molting dates back nearly 100 million years, and highlights scenarios in which scorpion molting behavior occurred outside caves during the Cretaceous period. redefining our understanding of arthropod behavioral complexity during the Cenomanian.