In June 2021, a set of photographs supposedly showing a near-extinct species of alacrán, or scorpion, called the "picajopo sting," went viral on social media:
This post was originally shared in Spanish. Here's the text of this message:
Si visitas soledad y te encuentras con estos animalitos, no te preocupes es fauna local, no muerden y solo salen cuando hay lluvia o mucho calor.
Es una especie de la familia de los alacranes, estaba desaparecida, muchos la creian extinta, es conocida como aguijón picajopo.
If you visit solitude and you meet these animals, do not worry, they are local fauna, they do not bite and only come out when there is rain or a lot of heat.
It is a species of the scorpion family, it was disappeared, many believed it to be extinct, it is known as the picajopo sting.
This post racked up more than 150,000 shares within a few days of its initial posting. While these images proved popular, they do not show a "picajopo sting" (which does not exist), or any other species of scorpion. These photographs actually feature a toy model of the "Facehugger," or a Stage 1 Xenomorph, from the "Alien" movie franchise.
There are several different "Facehugger" toys or masks or replicas that can be purchased. We're not sure of the exact item that was used in the above-displayed photographs, but they resemble the life-size replica foam prop Facehugger made by the National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA).
NECA describes its product on Facebook:
As seen in the 1986 horror classic #Aliens, this full-sized #replica measures nearly 3 and 1/2 feet long and has a bendable tail, so you can pose it anywhere… waiting to drop on unsuspecting prey from above, even attached to your face. The Life Size Facehugger is made of detailed, hand-painted foam -- perfect for costuming or decoration!
You can get another glimpse of this "Alien" prop in the following video review of the product:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NUY9MMER38
This viral set of images does not show a picajopo sting scorpion. These photographs actually feature a replica prop of a Facehugger from the movie "Alien."