Camel Spiders in Iraq

Who's their Novocain (R) supplier?

(Scary things!)

I checked on Snopes and this story is labeled "undetermined". I think the details about the screams sounding like babies and the gnawing off chunks of body parts must be BS, but they sure are disgusting, aren't they? I wouldn't want to run into one.

I just found this.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp#add

Oh well, it's still a good urban legend.

http://rbcm1.rbcm.gov.bc.ca/end_species/species/aesdisk2/img64n.jpg

I wouldn't dignify this story by calling it an urban legend. It's pure crap thought up by an adolescent mind.

SUN SCORPION
Eremobates gladiolus
Family Eremobatidae - Eremobatid Windscorpions
Order Solpugida - Sun or Wind Scorpions
Risk Status
Official status
The status of the Sun Scorpion is G? S2? It is classified as a Rare species.

Hardly anything is known about the six species that are known from the south Okanagan - in fact, three of these species have been discovered only recently and have not yet received official, scientific names. Knowledge of invertebrate ranges and status is poor, and new, intensive surveys are needed to further clarify the status of many of these animals.

Despite their common name, Sun Scorpions are not scorpions and shun the sunlight, preferring to hunt at night. They are also called wind scorpions because they appear to run as fast as the wind. They are sometimes called sunspiders after their sunny desert habitat. There are almost 120 species in North America out of 800 to 900 worldwide. Most North American windscorpions belong the Eremobatid Wind Scorpion Family.

This family consists of medium-sized arachnids (15-45 mm long)[1/2—1 3/4 inch] are mostly brownish or yellowish and often hairy. They differ from the only other North American family, Ammotrechnidae, in having a straight front of the head and 1 or 2 claws on the first pair of legs, rather than a rounded or pointed head and no claws.

Wind Scorpions, including Sun Scorpions (Eremobates gladiolus) are easily recognized by the pair of large, pincerlike chelicerae on the head in front of the mouth and by the slight, waistlike constriction near the middle of the body. Unlike the broadly joined cephalothorax and abdomen of scorpions, windscorpions have 3 distinct body regions - a segmented cephalothoracic area with 2 eyes at the front margin, a 3-segmented thorax, and a 10-segmented abdomen.

The chelicerae are used independently of each other to chew food - one pair holds the prey, while the other cuts it. The long, slender pedipalps do not have pincers and are used to scoop up water and bring it to the mouth. The first pair of legs are longer than the others and function in conjunction with the pedipalps as feelers. The other 3 irs of legs are used for walking.

Additionally, specialists identify this order by minute, T-shaped organs on the hind pairs of legs.

Distribution

Map
Red dots indicate specimen records or confirmed breeding sites.

British Columbia
In British Columbia, Sun Scorpions are apparently restricted to the south Okanagan Valley.

North America
No information is available at this time.

Habitat

Sun Scorpions live in sandy, dry areas, hiding under stones or in shallow burrows during the day.

Why is it endangered?

Rare invertebrates of the south Okanagan and Similkameen valleys such as this species are threatened not by direct exploitation, but by loss or degradation of their habitats. They are at risk because their ecosystems are at risk.

The grasslands of the southern interior of the province are a valuable agricultural resource, and their rich soils have been ploughed and irrigated to produce tree fruits, grapes, and vegetables. Pesticide use has probably had a great impact on native insects living in around agricultural areas. As well, heavy grazing has altered the plant composition of grasslands, changing the invertebrate communities.

The massive diversity of invertebrate species in British Columbia makes it very difficult for entomologists to do a literature or collection survey to determine which species are endangered or threatened. Specialized, detailed surveys will be required for almost every species that is suspected of being endangered. Despite a general ignorance about invertebrate distribution, information is known about a number of species that are confined to threatened habitats of very limited extent in the Thompson-Okanagan valleys.

Biology

Females lay about 50 eggs in subterranean burrows, then stand guard over the eggs and young for up to several weeks until the young molt for the first time.

Adult Sun Scorpions usually live only a few months.

They use their jaws to capture and crush their invertebrate prey. They prey on insects and small vertebrates, including

Isn't that pretty much what an urban legend is?

Wow!!
I've never heard of or seen anything like that before.

Yikes! Why make up the extra details, the real ones are scary enough!

ok, now how am I going to sleep tonight.... friggin google.

They're fairly common in the US Southwest, although those in the picture look bigger than any of the ones I've ever seen here.

I know I learned about them while I was out there, maybe I saw a few, they look familiar.

They look friggin scary though

That is ridiculous, the Solpugid or commonly known as the Sun Spider/Camel Spider/Wind Spider/ Wind Scorpion, only runs 10 mph. It's not venomous, it can be aggressive if provoked, but as far as it killing camels and other preposterous inquiries, no. It doesn't get as big as a human hand either. Wow. Honestly people, honestly.

urban legend
-noun
A modern story of obscure origin and with little or no supporting evidence that spreads spontaneously in varying forms and often has elements of humor, moralizing, or horror.

Also called urban myth.

Yeah, aj, that was established pretty early on.

I remember that picture (can't see it now), it was cool.

Here'tis.


COOL?????







More realistic image re size?




But I still never want to meet one:






And a close up of their cute li'l faces:

Naughty rabbit!

and



I'm terrified of spiders and that's the scariest one I've seem yet. That's nightmare material!

<Cringe!!!>

youre wrong
actually most of the imformation is right that you say is a myth.
i have a family member in iraq who was recently on leave. He showed me the scar of a baby camel spider bite.
its basically a dark hole.
heres what he told me because he lives with these creatures everyday.
yes they are huge and they do grow up to the size of dinner plates. they do scream when they run. they follow the shadow of the trucks and try to keep up with them. they are nocturnal but will follow your shadow during the day. they run up to 10 miles an hour and have caught up with a truck that was going 25. they don't jump vertically but horizontaly 3 feet at a time. they don't jump on to the camels stomachs but crawl because they hunt at night while the camels are sleeping. they do inject you with a type of numbing venom that basicall kills the tissue around your bite.
to heal a wound of a camel spider bite medics have to dig out the dead tissue around your bite that swells up pretty big. (hence the dark whole in his members leg)

so don't post things unless you hear them from a direct source like i did.
and thats the truth

Which would win in a fight, Chuck Norris or a camel spider?