— This article by Jerry Cates and Jason Cates, first published on 21 August 2011, was revised last on 5 September 2014. © Bugsinthenews Vol. 12:08(01)
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Important Links related to the content of this page:
Important Links related to the Arachnid Described on this Page:
- Solifugae encounter, Edinburgh, Texas — Jenny, 30 April 2010
- Solifugae encounter, Tamaulipas, Mexico — Sergio dM., 6 April 2010
001. Solifugae: Camel Spider from Afghanistan, frontodorsolateral habitus — Jason C., 21 July 2011
My nephew Jason, who is presently serving with the U.S. military, informed me late in 2010 that he was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan in the early part of 2011.
We share a lot of common interests, particularly in the natural sciences, and he promised that — after arriving in the Middle East — he’d take photos of the native fauna to be posted on BugsInTheNews.
The very idea that he might make good on that promise brought back a host of enjoyable memories.
Some 47 years earlier, while serving with the U.S.A.F. and later as a civilian on contract with the Dept. of Defense, I’d spent several years in Vietnam analyzing reconnaissance imagery of the landscape. As an ancillary to that work, I also studied the insects, spiders, snakes and botanicals native to that small but pivotal part of Southeast Asia. Jason’s description of the difficult conditions he lives and works under in Afghanistan have a surprisingly familiar ring. And, yes, they make me envious…
On 21 July 2011 Jason, true to his word, sent me several excellent photographs of a camel spider he’d found at his base in Afghanistan. These were later processed and are now posted here. No attempt is presently made to assign Jason’s specimen to family, genus, or species, but progress in that direction is being made.
Several good sources, among them Fred Punzo’s 1998 book “The Biology of Camel Spiders,” will soon be reviewed for that purpose. As soon as a tentative determination on the taxonomy of Jason’s specimen has been made, this posting will be revised accordingly. In the meantime, its anatomical characters are presented for those who have an interest in such things.
100. Distal Left Leg III
101. Distal Right Leg III
102. FDL abdomen etc.
103. FDL prosoma
104. Right Distal Pedipalp
105. Frontal habitus
106. Dorsum
107. Posterior
108. Malleoli
109. Distal left pedipalp
109. Right laterodorsum
110. RLD prosoma
Before getting into the physiology of this specimen, let’s first discuss its common name.
“Camel spider” is a term often used with such animals in the Middle East. The association is less a result of the use of camels as beasts of burden there, as for the more mundane fact that these arachnids have prosomal humps that vaguely resemble the hump on the camel’s back.
Thus that common name makes sense wherever such arachnids are found. However, when we find them in South Texas, we are more likely to call them “wind scorpions.”
That latter name suggests these may have crucial similarities to the typical scorpion, which is best known for its ability to deliver a painful sting.
On the contrary, not only does the camel spider, or — if you prefer — wind scorpion, not possess a stinging telson, it has no venom glands of any kind (the sole exception to this rule is found in a limited region of India).
Though this arachnid has an enormous pair of chelicerae (chewing mouthparts), which are said to be capable of piercing human skin, records of serious bites are few to nonexistent. Jason, in fact, tells me that he handled this camel spider and came into contact with its mouthparts, yet its bite was of no consequence whatever.
Taxonomy:
- Phylum: Arthropoda (animals with jointed appendages);
- Class: Arachnida (eight-legged arthropods);
- subclass: Dromopoda (from the Greek δρομας “dromas” = running, racing, whirling + Greek ποδ “pod(a)” = foot, thus an animal with running feet): comprises the Opiliones (harvestmen), true scorpions, pseudoscorpions and Solifugae (camel spiders, wind scorpions);
- Order: Solifugae (a Latin-derived term meaning “those that flee, or take refuge, from the sun“)
Anatomy: in process
Behavior: in process
Common Names: in process
Distinguishing Characteristics: in process
Distribution: in process
Physiology: in process
Mythology: in process
Similar Families: in process
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References:
- Beccaloni, Jan. 2009. Arachnids. Univ. Calif. Press.
- Brookhart, Jack O., and Irene P. Brookhart. 2006. An Annotated Checklist of Continental North American Solifugae with Type Depositories, Abundance, and Notes on their Zoogeography. J. Arach. 34:299–329
- Comstock, John Henry. 1914. The Spider Book. The New Nature Library, Vol. Seven, Part Two. Doubleday, Page & Company.
- Gertsch, Willis J. 1979. American Spiders, Second Ed. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.
- Gromov, Alexander V. 2000. SOLPUGIDS OF THE GENUS EUSIMONIA KRAEPELIN, 1899 (ARACHNIDA: SOLIFUGAE, KARSCHIIDAE) OF CENTRAL ASIA. Ekológia (Bratislava) Vol. 19, Supplement 3, 79-86.
- Kaston, B. J. 1953. How to Know the Spiders. WCB McGraw Hill.
- Punzo, Fred. 1998. The Biology of Camel Spiders. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
- Preston-Mafham, Rod. 1991. The Book of Spiders and Scorpions. Barnes & Noble, Inc.
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