Camel Spider(s)

This is the e-mail message that accompanied the photo above:

"Iraqis aren't the only ones the Marines are having to deal with. Hope they all have a big game hunting license! 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."

I received this phote via email as well. My first question...is this picture real? If so, it defies what I have been taught. I was taught that the largest spider in the world was the Goliath Birdeater, Theraphosa leblondi, with leg span of 12-15 inches when fully stretched out. This pictures shows a spider with a leg span of at least 20 inches. I really doubt our troops are having a serious problem with spiders like this.

Actually, these aren't 'Spiders' at all, but are Arachnids, somewhere between Spiders and Scorpions. Still, they are nasty-looking little devils, and I definitly wouldn't wanna get nailed by one, though if they're anything like thier American counterparts, they lack any kind of venom, making up for it with the brute strength of thier jaws to rip thier prey apart.

These are arachnids. Those look much bigger than the ones in america. In US there called Windscorpions, or sunspiders. In the US there get to be around 1/3 inch - 7/8. They have sticky pallips in the front were they grab onto there food, then they use there jaws to crush and chew there food. I think im not sure though.

they aren't poisonous too. i'd really love to know somthing more about them, but they sitll are a mistery.

The windscorpion in this photo probably has a legspan of 5-6 inches. I had a few as "Pets" During my 1year stay in Iraq. They are very aggressive. Lots of people had them out there as "pets" and would have "Wrestling" matches between the windscorpions,the fat-tailed scorpions, and the mice. I saw one get destroyed by what appeared to be an albino Jerusalem Cricket.

.................holy sh**!!!

My cuz is in iraq he told me that the field reports claim that they use a numbing agent similar to novicane...then they use their sythe like fangs to slice skin off without the victim feeling a thing. Lest I forget they have been reported to travel in packs, a charactoristic that is virtually unheard of by most of the arachnologists.