Camel Spider

Galeodes arabs

Camel Spider: The Fast Desert Hunter That Isn't a Spider

The camel spider (Galeodes arabs), also called the Egyptian giant solpugid, is a large solifuge from the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East. It is an arachnid but not a true spider: it has no venom and spins no silk, and it catches insects and small animals with huge pincer-like jaws.

Habitat
Deserts and dry, sandy or stony ground
Size
About 15 cm (6 in) including legs
Diet
Insects, other arachnids, lizards, rodents, small birds
Range
North Africa and the Middle East, Morocco to Iran
Lifespan
Up to about 1 year in the wild
Conservation
Not evaluated by the IUCN

Habitat & range

Galeodes arabs lives in deserts and other dry country across North Africa and the Middle East. The World Solifugae Catalog lists records from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Niger, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya, and from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Israel and Turkey (World Solifugae Catalog). Like most solifuges it avoids the sun: the order name Solifugae means those that flee from the sun. It shelters by day in burrows or under stones and hunts at night (Punzo 1998).

Diet & hunting

Camel spiders are generalist predators. They eat insects and other arthropods, and large ones like Galeodes arabs also take lizards, rodents and small birds (National Geographic). They have no venom. Instead they seize prey with jaws that can be up to a third of their body length and chop it to pulp with a sawing motion, using digestive fluids to soften the flesh before sucking it up (National Geographic). Solifuges are famously greedy eaters: adult females often eat so much that for a while they can hardly walk (Punzo 1998).

Behavior & adaptations

A camel spider looks like it has ten legs, but the front pair are pedipalps, long feelers it holds out in front as it runs and uses to grab prey (Punzo 1998). On the underside of the last legs are small fan-shaped organs called malleoli, which sense chemicals on the ground (Sombke et al. 2019). Its top speed is estimated at about 16 km/h (10 mph), very fast for an arachnid (National Geographic). It has two large eyes at the front of the head, no silk glands and no venom glands. Camel spiders often run toward people in the desert, but they are chasing the shade of a person's shadow, not the person (National Geographic). Camel Spider appears as an Arachnida creature card in Wilder, a free browser collectible card game.

Myths & conservation

Camel spiders became an internet sensation during the Iraq war of 2003, when photos taken with the animal close to the camera made them look half the size of a person, along with stories that they ate camels or sleeping soldiers. None of it is true: they are about 15 cm long including legs and are not deadly to people, although a bite from a big one is painful (National Geographic). Galeodes arabs has not been assessed by the IUCN, and its population trend is unknown (National Geographic). Solifuges are among the least studied arachnids, with more than 1,000 described species whose family tree was only worked out with DNA in 2023 (Kulkarni et al. 2023).

Fun facts about Camel Spider

  • Camel spiders are not spiders or scorpions: they belong to their own arachnid order, Solifugae, which means those that flee from the sun (Punzo 1998).
  • The jaws of a camel spider can be up to a third of its body length (National Geographic).
  • A camel spider running toward you in the desert is usually just chasing your shadow for shade (National Geographic).
  • Adult female solifuges can eat so much that they can hardly walk afterwards (Punzo 1998).

Camel Spider vs Texas Brown Tarantula

Close call, but the camel spider's speed and jaws give it the edge over the slower tarantula.

These two would never meet in the wild: the camel spider hunts the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, while the Texas brown tarantula lives in the grasslands and scrub of the southern United States. In this imagined desert-floor fight, the tarantula is heavier and has venomous fangs and irritating hairs. The camel spider has no venom but is much faster, at an estimated 16 km/h, and attacks with huge chopping jaws (National Geographic). It would dart in and out, biting at the legs, while the slower tarantula tries to rear up and strike.

Read more about Texas Brown Tarantula.

Common questions about Camel Spider

Are camel spiders dangerous to humans?

No. Camel spiders are not venomous and are not deadly to people, although a bite from a large one is painful (National Geographic). Solifuges have no venom glands and no fangs; they rely on their big pincer-like jaws to catch prey (Punzo 1998).

Is a camel spider actually a spider?

No. It is an arachnid, like spiders and scorpions, but it belongs to its own order, Solifugae (solifuges or sun spiders). Unlike true spiders it has no silk, no spinnerets and no venom, and its body has no narrow waist (Punzo 1998; National Geographic).

How big do camel spiders get?

Galeodes arabs, one of the larger species, is about 15 cm (6 inches) long including its legs and weighs about 2 ounces (57 g) (National Geographic). Viral photos from the 2003 Iraq war that seemed to show camel spiders half the size of a person were taken with the animal close to the camera.

Why do camel spiders chase people?

They are chasing shade, not people. In the desert heat a camel spider will run toward the shadow a person casts, which can look like an attack (National Geographic). Their top speed is estimated at about 16 km/h (10 mph), fast, but only compared with other arachnids.

Do camel spiders eat camels?

No, that is a myth. Camel spiders eat insects, other arachnids, lizards, rodents and small birds, which they chop up with their jaws and soften with digestive fluids (National Geographic).

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