Attack of the Camel Spider!
Emailed photo taken by U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq shows a pair of huge, scary-looking arachnids known as camel spiders. Is it true the venom of a camel spider is deadly to human beings?
Description: Emailed image, text
Circulating since: April 2004 (image)
Status: Text is inaccurate
Email example contributed by Kim N., April 7, 2004:
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Subject: FW: Camel Spider found in Iraq--This is a huge spider!!!! Yuck. I sure am glad we don't have these here. Although we probably will after this war..... This picture is a perfect example of why you don't want to go to the desert. These are 2 of the biggest I've ever seen. With a vertical leap that would make a pro basketball player weep with envy (they have to be able to jump up on to a camels stomach after all), these bastards latch on and inject you with a local anesthesia so you can't feel it feeding on you. They eat flesh, not just suck out your juices like a normal spider.  Click to Enlarge |
Comments: The photo appears to be authentic. Fortunately for all of us, especially the guys in the picture, the same cannot be said of the caption, which merely repeats false rumors circulating since the start of the Iraq war.
Camel spider isn't a spider
This scary-looking creature (actually, in the photo it's a pair of scary-looking creatures dangling end-to-end) is indeed commonly called a camel spider (also a "wind scorpion"), but in fact it is neither a spider (entomologists know it as a solifugid or solpugid), nor is it only found in Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Camel spiders reside in arid locales all over the world, including the southwestern United States.
Camel spiders aren't venomous
A typical specimen can grow to about the size of a child's hand, but, though they are known as predators and can kill insects and very small animals, camel spiders are neither venomous nor a threat to human beings.
For the record, they don't eat camels, either.
Related: U.K. Family Says Camel Spider Killed Their Dog
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Sources and further reading:
Deadly Scorpions, Camel Spiders and Snakes...
U.S. Marine Corps News, 17 April 2003Spider Myths: Horrors of the Desert (Camel Spider)
From the Spider Myths SiteSolifugid (Camel Spider)
Scientific information on solifugids (or solpugids, also known as camel spiders) from Insectia.comCamel Spider - The Official Arachnid of Gulf War II
From the Lycos Top 50, 7 April 2003
Last updated: 04/07/04
