Sunday, May 2, 2010

Camel Spider



Camel spiders or also known as the solifugids have been considered as one of the great mysteries of the desert. Resembling the body of spiders but with the characteristics of arthropods such as the scorpions and centipedes, these camel spiders have greatly interested tourists as well as local residents in the desert areas of the Middle East.

Camel spiders are known to be large-sized spiders but are considerably safer than other arachnids in terms of venom strength. However, its strong jaws have the capability to deal severe damage due to infection. It naturally crawls on the ground since it does not have silk glands that can produce webs.


Many rumors have been spread about the dangers that camel spiders impose to desert travelers. However, not all of these are true. Although the camel spiders are classified as large spiders, as clearly seen on its size, the issues about catching a platter-sized solifugid is definitely just a hoax.
Other rumors about the camel spiders are its capability to kill desert animals and even humans. Even though the camel spiders look very intimidating with their size, they pose no threat to large animals and humans. These arthropods feed only on smaller insects and birds such as scorpions and other arthropods found in the desert.

1 comment:

  1. A lot of what people think about camel spiders is actually not true. There are a lot of myths about camel spiders.

    ReplyDelete