But when considering models for the next giant animal to take over New York, the camel spider is quite intimidating looking! It has a giant jaw with jagged teeth all the way around that they use to chomp and saw through their prey. They are covered in hair and have eight legs and two appendages that have claw-like endings. These appendages are called pedipalps and are used to sense prey. Their bodies are shaped similar to scorpions which also adds to their frightening reputation. However, the detail that foils their scary persona is that they are usually only 3 to 6 inches long and here in North America they rarely get larger than an inch! They are also not dangerous to humans (their bites hurt but are not venomous). Let’s find out more about some of the largest camel spiders ever.
Why do they call them camel spiders?
Animals are often named by copying other animal names, like the whale shark (a shark the size of a whale that also eats plankton), elephant seals (seals that have a long trunk-like nose), and horse-flies (flies that frequently bite horses for their blood). So what about camel spiders? They are clearly not camels, nor do they look like camels or have any camel-like features. They kind of look like spiders, but are actually not spiders. They do belong to the arachnid family but are not true spiders. Camel spiders belong to the order Solifugae which has over 1,100 species. These are broken down into 12 different families. They got their name “camel” spider from a myth.
What myth led to the name “camel” spider?
Most camel spider species live in the desert in the Middle East. Because of their intimidating looks, it was rumored that they would climb up the legs of camels attach themselves to the underside of camels and eat their stomachs! This proved to not be true, but the name stuck.
What other names are common for camel spiders?
Camel spiders are also called “sun spider”, “wind scorpion”, or (my favorite) “Egyptian Giant Solpugid”.
What other myths surround the camel spider?
Another common myth is that camel spiders secretly follow humans waiting to attack! The true part of this myth is that camel spiders may be found in the shadow of a human, but it is a means to stay out of the sun, just following the path of the shadow, not being picky about what is causing the shadow. Camel spiders are mostly nocturnal as a means to avoiding the hot desert sun, but do make appearances during the day at times.
How many kinds of camel spiders are there?
There are twelve families of camel spiders:
AmmotrechidaeCeromidaeDaesiidaeEremobatidaeGaleodidaeGylippidaeHexisopodidaeKarschiidaeMelanoblossidaeMummuciidaeRhagodidaeSolpugidae
As noted earlier, in total there are more than 1,100 types of camel spiders. Camel spiders are found throughout North America, South America, in Southern Europe (Spain and Greece), Africa, the Middle East, and into India and Western China.
How big are the largest camel spiders on Earth?
The largest camel spiders live in the Middle East and can reach up to 6 inches across when measuring the width of their legs. In addition, their bodies can stretch quite long, reaching for inches from their abdomen to jaw. So US troops that were stationed in the Middle East did run into these creatures and it may have been the first time they had encountered such creatures. One characteristic of camel spiders that is true is that they are very fast. They seem to scurry around and keep moving at high speeds. Camel spiders can reach speeds of 10mph. So imagine being on guard at night and something speeds by you at 10mph, I know I would be startled! And the first time you saw one you may be surprised by their size. A common cockroach in the US is around 1-2 inches; an adult rat can get to be 9-11 inches (Eew!), so camel spiders can grow quite large when compared to other creepy crawlers!
How large do the North American camel spiders get?
The two types of North American camel spiders are the Ammotrechidae and Eremobatidae families, mostly located in the southwest states of the US. Although they typically keep to themselves in drier climates they may find shelter in people’s homes, cabins, or barns. So if you opened your cabin door to be stared down by a fierce-looking camel spider, how large would it be? Only about an inch long, smaller than a common cockroach! It would probably scurry off not approaching humans. However, if you did end up in a scuffle with one, their bites are not venomous, and although painful, would not be harmful.
Where else do camel spiders live in North America?
If you think you could avoid contact from camel spiders by avoiding the southwest states you would be wrong. There are three different species that don’t mind living in cooler temps in Canada including British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan (just the southern part). But again, these are the smallest species, growing to about an inch. In the United States, they also live across the Great Plains, the lower Mississippi, and in Florida.
Fun Fact: What is the largest spider ever?
According to the Guinness World Records, the largest species of spider is the goliath bird-eating spider, again a pretty intimidating name! These spiders actually can get to be the size of a dinner plate! The largest one over was found in Venezuela in 1965 by an expedition group. The spider they found had a leg span of 28cm (11 inches!). What about their scary name, do they actually eat birds? Yes! They will eat anything that is a bit smaller than them including small birds.
