Ahhhh is this a real spider?

Question

http://www.burningsoulsforum.com/forum/files/dayve/camelspider_200441722335_.jpg

As an acracnaphobic when a friend sent me link I was horrified, please tell me its a fake if not what type is it ugh i'm getting nervous just looking thinking about it!!!

Answer 1

The photo displayed in the link above does indeed show camel spiders encountered in Iraq, but a number of the claims about them multi-legged creatures made in accompanying text are inaccurate or exaggerated. Claims of camel spiders being flesh-eating anesthesia-injecting beasts are folklore, not reality, so worry not that those serving in our country's armed forces in Iraq are having to deal with man-eating creepy-crawlies the size of small cats.

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 and lay their eggs there, 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.
These claims are all false. Camel spiders (so named because, like camels, they can be found in sandy desert regions, although they aren't technically spiders) grow to be moderately large (about a 5"-6" 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 the creatures shown in the link above appear to be far too big for camel spiders, they look misleadingly large because of their closeness to the camera, which creates an illusion of exaggerated size. (Note their size in comparison to the uniform sleeve which appears in upper right-hand portion of the picture.)

Answer 2

Camel spiders are real. They're not real spiders. A lot of things people say about Camel spiders aren't real. They don't grow to gigantic sizes, kill you in a single bite or anything like that. They're about 5-6 inches long. The link below explains the urban myths in more detail.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp

Edit to add: Look carefully at the picture, and you'll see it isn't photoshopped... but neither are they that big. There's a bit of sleeve on the right from the person holding them, showing them up to be much smaller than they appear at first.

Answer 3

I think it has been Photoshopped, My wife won't even look at it. I suspect that its a tailless scorpion I thought the biggest spider was in the Amazon. I believe it's called a Colombian Tarantula and it's as big as a dinner plate.

Answer 4

Yes indeed, it is a real spider called camel spider also known as wind spiders, wind scorpions, and sun scorpions commonly found in the deserts of the Middle East. I have seen a real one. They are not as scary as it appeared on that picture but reallly it will make you to shout.

Few facts about camel spiders:
**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."
** 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.

Well, not just scary but horrible as well!♥

Answer 5

Yes it is called a Camel Spider we find them all the time when in the dessert. We had one in a five gallon water jug when I was in Saudi.

Answer 6

I try not to post answers if I'm not going to actually answer the question but I just have to say that that is serioulsy one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen. I think I'm going to have nightmares about it. That's what I get for being curious. :P

Answer 7

I even have an apprehension of becoming the buzzer bypass off once you enter/bypass away a save. i additionally am kinda freaked out by utilising mannequins. they are creepy. yet not something quite freaks me out.

Answer 8

no