Imagine one of these things crawling in your sleeping bag... Camel Spiders Camel spiders are one of the fastest running arthropods. Although they have four pairs of legs, they run using only three pairs. The first pair of legs or pedipalpi are held up in front of them and used in a similar manner to the antennae of insects. They have very long, silky setae and are constantly moving in order to locate and pick-up prey. Despite their fearsome appearance and their strong bite, solifugids are unlikely to harm humans. In the past they were considered venomous and extremely dangerous but it is now thought that the only risk of injury resulting from them is caused by shock or infection following a bite. There is no evidence of venom in any part of their body. Camel spiders are nocturnal predators of other arthropods including scorpions and are voracious feeders. Some species kill and feed on lizards and it is speculated that others kill mice and birds. They rely solely on their speed and stealth to catch their prey. In desert areas they are often attracted to lights at night in search of food and their appearance can cause alarm if they enter tents. It is rare to see them during the winter months and they are thought to hide or hibernate during cold periods.
These things are damn scary looking. Once when I camped out at the beach (Half Moon Bay, Dhahran Saudi) my friend was chased by by one next to one of the sand dunes. They are really damn big, and kind of look like scorpions by the way they run across the sand, with their butt kind of up...... They are damn fast too, I read somewhere that the spider was most likely chasing my friend because it was running after his shadow since they really hate the sunlight.
i thought there was a thread on this like 3 years ago (well, a long time whenever it was) but it turned out they weren't real. maybe it just turned out they weren't as ravenous and deadly as the article made them seem. whatever the case, if i ever saw one i'd be running too fast in the other direction to figure out what they're really like. i'm getting nervous just looking at the picture.
Oh no, they are real. They just aren't deadly. They are NOT poisonous. Although it you are bit, I bet it would extremely hurt.
