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Quite a big insect, about 25mm long. When disturbed, the lower part of the abdomen is raised and it looks like a scorpion. No idea of what it is.

Thanks,

Joaquim Gaspar
Lisboa

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Here is another view showing the "tail"

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It's a 'rove beetle' - member of the Staphylinidae (Coleoptera). See here - http://en.wikiped...ove_beetle

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It's Ocypus olens - the biggest and the most common of the staphylinids-

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Thank you, Chris and Isidro, I really should know better Maybe I was frightened by the critter... I suppose the name Staphylinus olens is an old designation?

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Hello!



Mostly it is called Ocypus olens nowadays, but not all experts share the opinion, that the Ocypus species should be placed in an own genus, apart from Staphylinus.

BTW: O. olens is the biggest, the one with the most robust head and commonest in most parts of Europe, but there are other species - depending on location. So I would write Ocypus cf. olens.

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For me, it's olens without doubts... other Ocypus are different in bright, size of head, punctuation, etc. -and are much rarer-