Those LARGE Camel Spiders in Iraq : AZ IMC

From someone stationed in Baghdad. He was recently bitten by a camel spider which was hiding in his sleeping bag. I thought you'd like to see what a camel spider looks like. It'll give you a better idea of what our troops are dealing with. Enclosed is a picture of his friend holding up two spiders. Warning: not for the squeamish!

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), they 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. I'm gona be having night mares after seeing this photo!
Origins: It's hard enough for those serving in our country's armed forces to be sent halfway around the world, away from home and family. It's even worse to be stationed in some bleak desert outpost. But nobody should have to deal with creepy-crawlies the size of small cats in the bargain! We don't yet know the origin of this photo or what it's supposed to depict, other than to note that the picture is generally circulated with text proclaiming it to be an image of some U.S. soldiers with camel spiders.

Camel spiders, also known as wind spiders, wind scorpions, and sun scorpions, are a type of arthropod found (among other places) in the deserts of the Middle East. They're technically not spiders but solifugae (although, like spiders, they belong to the class Arachnida). Camel spiders are the subject of a variety of legendary claims, many of them familiar to Americans because they were spread by U.S. servicemen who served in the Persian Gulf War in 1991, and re-spread at the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003:
Camel spiders can grow to be as large as dinner plates.

Camel spiders can traverse desert sand at speeds up to 25 MPH, making screaming noises as they run.

Camel spiders can jump several feet in the air.

Camel spiders eat the stomachs of camels, hence the name "camel spider." (Legend includes the detail that camel spiders eat camel stomachs from either the outside in or the inside out. In the former case they supposedly jump up from the ground and grab onto camels' bellies from underneath; in the latter case exactly how spiders allegedly as large as dinner plates get into camels' stomachs intact remains unexplained.)

Camel spiders are venomous, and their venom contains a powerful anesthetic that numbs their victims (thus allowing them to gnaw away at living, immobilized animals without being noticed). U.S. soldiers were said to have been attacked by camel spiders at night but remained completely unaware of their plight until they awakened in the morning to find chunks of their flesh missing.
According to most spider experts, these claims are all false. Camel spiders (so named because, like camels, they can be found in sandy desert regions) grow to be moderately large (about a 5" leg span), but nowhere near as large as dinner plates; they can move very quickly in comparison to other arthropods (a top speed of maybe 10 MPH), but nothing close 25 MPH; they make no noise; and they capture prey without the use of either venom or anesthetic. Camel spiders rely on speed, stealth, and the (non-venomous) bite of powerful jaws to feed on small prey such as other arthropods (e.g., scorpions, crickets, pillbugs), lizards, and possibly mice or birds. They use only three pairs of legs in running; the frontmost pair (called pedipalpa) is held aloft and used in a similar manner to the antennae of insects. Camel spiders shun the sun and generally hide during the day, coming out at night to do their hunting.

Although whatever is depicted in the photograph above appears to be far too large for camel spiders, the creatures might just look unusually large because they were held close to the camera, creating an illusion of exaggerated size. However, since we don't know the source of the picture, we can't yet rule out the possibility that some other misdirection was involved (e.g., digital manipulation, a misdescription of what the photograph depicts, some soldiers goofing around with plastic figures or something else spider-shaped, etc.).

-----------------------

Can these (smaller version) spiders be found in arizona? I think I found one, and I am trying to identify it.

oh my gosh these spiders are my worst nightmare
does anyone no if people eat these things?

Hi I live in trona california and we have these ive only seen them as big as mice here but I believe they can get bigger and I know a few people bitten by these .Also known as vinagrewns hints the taste in your mouth after recieving a bite and large swelling of the bite area .
Mike Ruehl

go to ebaumsworld and search for spider they have a us troop eating a smaller one

This is horrendus bull
1. Aint that big buster. I know your crazed with over excitment but come on. That picture is obviously faked. the lense is just closer to the spider!

2. They dont run like that, more like 5mph...ps no screamen either

3. the things are just camel spiders. NO! THEY DO NOT EAT CAMELS. They sometime eat already dead ones though.

Everything ecept the existance of the things is bull shit.

Thank you

http://www.camelspiders.net

I have found several of these over the years. The largest one I have found was yesterday. About 3 inches in length. Leg tip to leg tip. They are very scary looking, but non that I have caught ever hissed, screamed or tried to run. They actually play dead. The one I caught yesterday I thought was dead, so I placed him in a large plastic jar. Today, he was trying to attack to get out. He kept arching his back like a scorpion. I suspect it's a defense mechanism. Just scary looking.... that's all.

I just saw a camel spider for the first time. Moving from Illinois to Arizona I thought what a lovely state I want to live here. Well now that I've shot a rattlesnake, seen a large brown spider, and this terrifiying camel spider I think I'm ready to move back and just accept the cold winter weather. There wasn't anything like this in Illinois!

Yesturday, i found a camel spider,while i was walking the dog just 30 miles west of Phoenix Az. (Buckeye), it appeared dead, and my little cousin, picked it up with a peice of paper. it was large and very scary looking.

my cousin is in iraq so i hope that there are no spiders there lol but the spiders in the photo i think are real they might not be camel spiders but they are some sort of spider. but the thought of it eatin you without you knowing creeps me out! eamil me with what you think

If such an idiotic hoax can encourage Nikki's cousin
to desert and stop killing Iraqis, it might be useful.
Still, I can't believe people take such rubbish
seriously.

The only spiders in the world whose venom carries
a serious risk of death to healthy adults are the
funnel web spiders that live in the vicinity of Sydney,
Australia. The black widow and the brown recluse
can give a nasty bite, but they certainly wouldn't
kill a healthy adult. The "camel spider" is a hoax.

they ar very big u know but
koool

I found one of these creatures in my garage the other day. I saved it and took to my co-workers and no one ever seen such a thing! I thought it was a hybrid of some sort. Very scary looking! Are they harmless?

i would just like to say that yes, it would be highly possible to find some in az. if however you lived near a base that has recently returned from a deployment to iraq. so don't rule that out. as for the photo, yes they look really large. the picture was taken uup close. CAMEL SPIDERS ARE VERY LARGE. not to the extent of a dinner plate, but i have personally seen one the size of a bread plate you might see at a nice restaurant. i have just returned from iraq no more than a month ago and have seen a couple of them lurking aboout. i do have a picture of one that is not very good because one of my fellow airmen caught it in a bottle. it wasn't as big as the ones a lot of people have said they've seen. it's leg span was about as only as big as a small coffee can lid. that's is the biggest i've seen. they are vicious and will chase you even at night if they are provoked. mostly they would rather hide and get away if the are being bothered. they do hiss rather loudly. ii wouldn't call it ashriek though. if anyone has any "real" questions for me, feel free to e-mail me.

Well the do scream! I have witness them doing so...they can run up to 15mph. yeah they dont eat camels but the can start eatting you lol...my unit has killed numerous of them and seen alot more...

Alright people they teach us about insects in the Army and the brown recluse is a very deadly spider if left untreated! I can get a photo to show u what it does to people. Doesnt take a soldier to know that lol...

1. spiders are arachnids, not insects (the way to tell
is that arachnids have eight legs, and insects have
six).

2. brown recluse spiders are real, and camel spiders
are a hoax.

i cant believe all the people that think these things are fake.yes the picture exaggerates the size.but like someone said on an earlier comment it is taken up close.yes spiders have eight legs and insects have six.camel spiders have ten.oh well why would this many people just make this up.if you dont believe it then maybe you shoud ask someone whos been to iraq for a photo.im sure theyll have one.theyre everywhere out here.im in iraq right now.i caught one last night.we fight them with other insects and spiders all the time.my favorite was the praying mantis vs the camel spider.i was really surprised but the praying mantis owned the camel spider.anyways the camel spider is real.thats all i got to say.

Well if the "camel spiders" have ten legs, then they are not spiders, but some previously unknown form of life. I find it hard to believe that no entomologist or zoologist has described them to science before if they are so common.

Oh by the way, Johnny, some friends of mine in Iraq would like to know the location of your unit, its strength, and weaponry. Do tell!

Bye, bye, GI
In Iraq you'll surely die

If you look in the top right corner you can see that the guys hand is rather close to the camera therefore making the spider to look bigger so really they aint that big in that pic

dear hippy well jonny is correct, and tell your friend thank you. b/c you have now beened turned in for opsec violation and if you dont know what that means im sure the people coming to talk to will explane it to you,( maybe even in hippy terms so you can understand).

have a hippy of a day
another G.I.
p.s. tell bubba i said hi

The Jew media didn't tell you what happened in ar-Ramadi yesterday,did they? There's lots of stuff you GIs don't get told. Check out the latest Iraqi Resistance Report. That should boost your morale.

Did it ever occur to you that perhaps the people who sent you in harm's way are more your enemy than the Iraqi Resistance? If not, it should now. You might even consider throwing grenades at your officers.

You can ask the other posters here if I'm a hippy or not. By the way Bubba and my other acquaintances of the Aryan Brotherhood return your kind greeting.

Hey Kevin...where do you go to subscribe to "Jew Media?" Can't seem to find it in my cable listings or newspaper.

Can hardly wait for your answer. Love it when you sound really wacked...

There's Eisner of ABC/Disney. Indeed for a long time Disney was the only Hollywood studio not owned by Jews (documented in <An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood> by Neal Gabler). Then there's Rupert Murdoch. We all remember what happened when Marlon Brando showed some disloyalty towards his Jewish masters. There's that amusing miniseries <Holocaust> that NBC gave us in 1979. There's the pro-Israel editorial about Lebanon in the Arizona Republic. Those media not owned and run by them outright certainly kow-tow to them. Amazing what power a mere 2% of the American population has!

Kevin... Good news and bad news for you. The good news: Michael Eisner is long gone from Disney, so you are once again free to skip gaily through Disneyland. The bad news: there still is no Nazi Land in the Magic Kingdom. And even if there were, Indiana Jones is still around to kick Der Fuhrer's ass. Ach ouch!

Of course you won't be satisfied until Snow White has a boyfriend who's black and all the seven dwarves have hooked noses.

Hey Kevin -- it's up to Snow White who she wants to hang out with. White, black, yellow...who cares? Besides-- it's just a *made-up* story. Sorry to burst your bubble.

As for dwarves with "hooked noses" -- wtf? Are you really so rabidly anti-semitic that you think all jews really have hooked noses? And what's wrong with hooked noses?

You definitely have Issues, Wienerschnitzel Lad.

It is just a story, but stories have a purpose. Jews would certainly like to alter stories to promote miscegenation and weaken the white race.

Of course, if children's stories are harmless, whatever they depict, perhaps some theme parks should include stories of Jews eating Christian babies or poisoning wells. No harm in that--entirely fiction :-)

What?! You're saying that Jews are altering fairy tales? The evil bastards. How low will they sink? Guess it's time to pull out the Big Book of (100% Pure) Aryan Fairy Tales. And toss it in the gar-bage.

And no wonder you're so twisted if your mom was telling you "jews eating babies" tales while you were a little neo-nazi toddler. Was there a swastika on your binky?

If you want a literal "fairy tale" promoted by the politically correct set, consider "Heather Has Two Mommies"

"Heather has two mommies?" So what? As long as they're good mommies...

Heather can't grow up with an appreciation for the natural order of things being reared by lesbian freaks.

So, Kevin, I guess you're opposed to lesbians?

If gays and lesbians want to be monogamous, I don't see any reason to persecute them. If there's anything genetic to their condition, it's best they be tolerated rather than forced to breed. If so, they'll die out given time. I suspect the gay gene may have been passed on as a result of persecution compelling homosexuals to marry and have children, so in this case persecution is self-defeating. I don't see that as giving these people a right to adopt children though, and I'm opposed to special rights for them.

Naturally those who engage in sexual practices that endanger the public health, whether gay or straight, should be punished severely, so I have little patience for pseudo-progressives who don't want to imprison those who knowingly spread AIDS.

"Forced to breed?" Kevin, do you think *anyone* should be forced to breed?

No, I do not think people should be forced to breed. The fact remains that in a way many homosexuals were forced to breed in the past, because they feared that remaining single would cast suspicion onto themselves. It was therefore quite common to marry and have children to avoid suspicion.

All this from a single spider picture...thats hilarious

Yeah my husband caught one of these demon crawlers running at him at moch 5. Fast little bugger. Very painful bite but non venemous. get you sh@t sprayed and dont walk bare foot!

i am a arthropologist the camel spiders is an arthro pod and is really only about 1' by 1' and does not eat camels just feeds on the insects that are eating the carcus the camel spider isnt a spider its a arthropod and can only run 10 mph

I don't think there's any such thing as an "arthropologist." Did you maybe mean something else?

The phylum arthropoda (animals with exoskeletons) includes the class insecta (insects), arachnida (spiders), and crustacea (crustaceans). All spiders are by definition arthropods. If "camel spiders" are not arachnids, then perhaps they are some other kind of arthropods, but all spiders are by definition arthropods.

Camel Spider Myths:

1. Camel spiders can move at speeds over 30 MPH, screaming while they run.
2. Camel spiders can be as large as a frisbee.
3. Camel spiders venom is an anesthetic that numbs their prey.
4. Camel spiders can jump three feet high.
5. Camel spiders get there name because they eat the stomachs of camels.
6. Send us your myths for inclusion here...

THE FACTS

Most of these claims are false or greatly exaggerated.

1. Camel spiders top speed - 10 mph.

2. Size: Up to 6 inches

3. They have no venom.

4. They don't jump.

5. Called camel spiders because they live in the desert.

They actually aren't spiders at all, The order Solifugae is a group of arachnids, containing around 900 species. The name derives from Latin, and means those that flee from the sun. The order is also known by the names Solpugida, Solpugides, Solpugae, Galeodea and Mycetophorae. Their common names include camel spider, wind scorpion, sun spider and matevenados

While the absence of venom in Solifugae is a long-established fact, there is a single published study of one species, Rhagodes nigrocinctus, carried out in India in 1978 by a pair of researchers who did histological preparations of the chelicerae, and found what they believed to be epidermal glands (Aruchami & Sandara Rajulu 1978). Extracts from these glands were then injected into lizards, where it induced paralysis in 7 of 10 tests. While this study has never been confirmed, and while other researchers have been unable to locate similar glands in other species, this particular species does appear to possess venom, although it is not known if there is any mechanism for introducing it into prey (recall that the researchers manually injected it into lizards). Accordingly, for the time being, we must at least acknowledge the possibility that some Solifugae are venomous.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_Spiders

the picture is of two spider because a camel spider has 10 legs; there is more than ten legs in that picture

I live in douglas wyoming, and somehow we have hundreds of them around!!!

Lancaster and Palmdale are filled with these. They are pretty amazing. I had one in my home, and when spotted, I kid you not, it used those two front stalks to climb the wall vertically. The house was built in the 40's so the walls weren't drywall. This thing tried to escape climbing plaster vertically. My friend who spotted it grabbed a newspaper and hit from about 4 feet up. They are fast, very fast.

About a month or so later I was walking out to the front porch and noticed one sitting there. I slowly closed the door and watched. It captured a moth that has bumped off the light. I found it really creepy because it caught the moth with the two stalks in front and then, at least this is how it appeared, the front halves of the face lifted up as though a sort of skin flap. Then what appeared like a set of "mini crab clawlike" mandibles poked out and just devoured the moth in seconds. There was nothing left.

I had lived in the desert for about 6 months then and had become accustomed to horse and blow flies and the like when you go outside to enjoy the desert, so using dilutted anti-bacterial dishsoap at about 10:1 in a basic spray bottle set for "stream," I opened the door and sprayed the vinegarewn. It ran at me after the first hit with the face halves up so I sprayed it right in the mandibles. About 5 seconds later and running away the vinegarewn (camel spider) just stopped in it's tracks, as every insect I hit with dishsoap does. The following day the ants were feeding well on it's carcas :). Oh and by the way the body on this was about 3 inches long. They also appear to come out during the spring time.

I later learnt from a friend whose has chemistry as a hobby and also lives in Lancaster that the glycerin dishsoap that makes the "water wetter," in his estimation, appears to break down insect shells and then dehydrate them. He explained that 10% dehydration immobalizes them and if they continue to deyhydrate they die.

I am sure I had creative vision at the time. I mean, even though I can see and remember everthing I just said exactly as stated above I still have a hard time believing it. I am not trying to add to myth or whatever either. Just wanted to share my account with these so called "camel spiders." That might be their actual technical name but out in the California high desert they are called vinegarewns. Mike Reuhl had it right. They remind me of "potato bugs," at least the body. Potato bugs are rather ugly but maybe it's the same family/species or whatever.

Camel "spiders" are real. I've seen a video of one eating a lizard, and it was a BIG spider. Who ever thinks that these creatures dont exist needs to think again. People should listen to what the soldiers in Iraq have to say, they've been dealing with them firsthand.

Yes. There are over 120 species of wind scorpions or camel spiders. Called windscorpions because they are as quick as wind. They are found in western us and in florida. Mostly in desert regions.

PAC and the IWW and People for the Ethical Treatment of Vegan Arthropods (PETVA) invite all Phoenix residents to join together in a show of solidarity on November 31 -- Iraqi Camel Spider Global Day of Solidarity. Brings the troops home now and STOP the oppression and exploitation of Iraqi Camel Spiders NOW! Support the brave and glorious soldier-biting camel spider freedom fighters!!

ps: kegger party details to follow!

holy s@*$t how big are those things

camel spiders ( also known as sulfugids) only get 4 to 6 inches long. they do not run 25 mph and they do not scream this info is a myth. Same as the myth that tarantulas are deadly. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT.

sulfugids (camel spiders) are found world wide not just in the middle east they are also found in colorado, arizona, california, nevada, and other states in the U.S. They are not spiders spiders have venom sulfugids (camel spiders do not have venom). They do not eat camels stomaches but they do eat other bugs that are feasting on the corpses of camels and other animals. If what the soldiers say is true they need to bring back specimens to prove that camel spiders get that big. These are all mythes.

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i live in copperopolis, ca. & my mother lives in angels camp, ca. 14 miles out of copperopolis... we both have found these type of spiders in our homes, although they are much smaller than the ones they have in iraq... the ones we found were about 1 1/2" long body length, with a leg span of about the same, maybe a little more. VERY FREAKY LOOKING & SCARY!!!! lol my mother put hers in a glass jar & i'm sitting here looking at it's corpse, even dead it's still scary looking.

well obvously its of two spiders dude, thats why there are twoooooo (2, jsut for the illiterate) heads, and twoooooo asses, because one is biting the other;s ass. try to sound smart when you say stupid crap, it will make people believe you a little more.

I found a smaller version of this camel spider with all the exact characteristics of the pictures on the internet. I encapsulated it in acrylic. It's pretty trippy.

i lived and worked in dubai and surrounding desert as a pest control supervisor. on odd occassions we wouldbe called out to camel farm to deal with camel spiders.

although i never personally caught one, i witnessed it being done on a number of occasions by my indian co workers.
they are fast, they are big and they do have a very nasty bite. (one of my guys was in hospital for a week. i have seen first hand the damage done to sleeping camels and can say based on fact, if i was a marine bitten in my sleep, then i would wakeu in a lot of pain and def reqiuire medical attention. i found the most entertaining control method is a shotgun ( 12 or 410) from a pick up truck.

nice news thanks!Birth Control

people, this article from top to bottom is absolute nonsense. although the "camel spider" is an archanoid, he is not an actual spider. unlike spiders, who are all venomus (even if only to bugs and tiny animals), camel spiders have no venom whatsoever. they do make sounds, but to refer to them as "screams" is just plain myth. when they are threatened, they either play dead patheticly or make a bad smell. they are quite agile, but non of them, not to mention ines as big as that, run that fast. as for the size, well, i will not comment on that. it's the exact ignorant nonsense that gets so many animals persecuted wrongfully. why dont you guys check out this link, and refer to the myths section. a href="http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solifugae"

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Solifugidae, are cool (literally). ;-)
Sol, the sun. Fugid, as in the word fugitive, one that runs. They run from the sun, and only come out at night. A bit obvious really.
Yes they're related to spiders, yes they run fast, but you could outrun them on a bicycle and a hard road, but not on sand! Those in the original picture look about 4 to 5 inches across, so they're big examples.
My dad caught one when we lived in army quarters in Aden. It was small enough to catch in a tobacco tin, and a shorter leg type, but it chewed up all the silver paper in the tin and left it in little balls. A couple of holes carefully made in the lid kept it alive till morning, when we released it. It immediately ran damned quickly back under the house!
Yes it was scary. I was only seven. :-D

Not 100% sure about the liquid detergent theory. But they don't use lungs to breath, so maybe it interferes with their oxygen absorbing abilities.

And animals have no politics. They bite everyone! And to be honest, I'm on their side! LOL X-D

Oh for goodness sakes, give me a break! The photo of the camel-spiders has obviously been doctored up. As an amateur entomologist, I can tell you that these are solpugids or windscorpions/ sunscorpions that are harmless to man. So they aren't venomous, but can bite. They are beneficial, because they will eat all insects that many people considered pests. The biggest you will ever get one to grow is three inches in length. Like the other poster said, they don't scream or do any of the other stuff claimed in the story. So obviously the photo was make believe by soldiers who were just bored and were clowning around.

<<< i found the most entertaining control method is a shotgun ( 12 or 410) from a pick up truck. >>>

. . . save my watch!!! The BS is getting really deep here!

<<< i found the most entertaining control method is a shotgun ( 12 or 410) from a pick up truck. >>>

...save my watch! it's getting pretty deep here!

The camel spider is not a hoax, nor is it a spider. spiders are arachnids, which have 8 legs. the camel spider (also known as the sun spider and the wind scorpion) has 10 legs, being as the very front two are sensory legs. because of this, they are known as solfugid, or solfugae for plural.

yes Todd,
I know it is a bit late, but bite me. Can you run 10 miles per hour? That is fast for a bug. I dont care what it is , Its big and its fugly as hell and it's bit hurts. SO eat it.

i don't know what is true or not, but these do exist. apart from what is real and what isn't, i have a comment about the pic with the soldiers. the pic was taken to show detail, not size of the spider. look at the wrist cuff and notice the spider is approx the size a your hand. unfortunate that people think it was to dramatize the size. anyhow, believe what you want.

This is all wrong.

Sun spiders have no venom, do not grow more than about 5 inches in diameter and do not eat anything larger than themselves. They have a top speed of about 10 mph.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_spider

scroll down to "urban legends"

This is really scary!!! I'm in Israel and now I'm scared...I was only looking up spiders in Israel!!!!

i belive i found a camel spider here in colorado. it looks the same as the ones found in iraq. just a lot smaller. has 10 legs and 4 pincher's and 2 eyes. so if any one could let me know if they could possible be here i would be greatfull.. seem's how i woke up with it on my face.

What a load of crap ... just trying to perpetuate the hoax with your bolony story!!!

Like some high-school ghost story ...

I am a Pest control Technicion in Arizona.
The Picture looks like a Sunspider.
These are very common in southern Arizona.
They are not venomous, not aggressive.
These are a usefull predator that eats other pests.
max size: 1.5 -2 inches.
if found indoors place a glass over it slide a piece of heavy paper under it and take it outside.
Inspite of the name these are not true spiders but instead are solpugids.

i found 3 of these wind scorpions, as the locals call them.. here in the south eastern part of arizona. the ones i found in my house were very small...about an inch or inch and a half long. the first and third one i found were very aggressive and came after me with its duel chompers wide open. but it was not fast. as fast as a regular spider would be. the second one though, was much more docile and wanted to be left alone. guess i found the first and third in a bad mood? anyhow my cat chomped them and had a grand meal.

im on here looking for information on oklahoma spiders and now im pretty glad all I have are wolf spiders

Spider stories almost always make news. However, Camel Spider (solpugids) are not venomous.

The venomous spiders in the United States are the Hobo Spider, Black Widow and Recluse Spider.