It is distributed widely across northern Africa, including Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, as well as the Middle East, including Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and possibly Saudi Arabia and southern Turkey.

[1] However, recent research has shown that it forms a highly diverse cluster of closely related but separate species.

[14] This diversity is explained by the topography which led to a high degree of speciation in populations which are separated from others by mountain ranges.

[6][16][17] At least 75 species are known, many of which are quite similar in appearance:[18] Members of Buthus are generally medium-sized scorpions (40–85 mm total length).

[19] According to a study by Touloun et al. (2001)[20] scorpions of the B. occitanus complex caused 26% of all recorded cases in southwestern Morocco, but none of them resulted in death.

Species of Buthus live in semi-arid to arid climate in various terrains, from mountain valleys to coastal plains mostly with sparse vegetation, even in deserts.