The Camel Spider has recently become the focus of attention due to the presence of American Soldiers in Iraq, one of the few places where this arachnid lives. In the way "this happened to a friend of a friend of a friend", some creepy tales were built up, a bunch of photos were sent back to the USA --later on published on the internet-- and soon the legend was born.
Camel Spider Snope
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It was said that a giant camel spider had crawled into the sleeping bag of a soldier, biting a man while he was asleep.
The "venom" of the Camel Spider --or "sun scorpion" (though it is not a scorpion) -- supposedly rendered his skin senseless with an endocaine-type of venom, so the spider managed to eat a hole out of his leg by the end of the night. Some photographs, like the one shown below, were annexed to the alarming article, and even though the first part of the tale may be true, the scariest part happens to be false.
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this photo was published on the internet in the year 2004
The Camel Spider has no venom at all. It uses its claws to catch its prey, which is never bigger than the arachnid itself. It was also said that these spiders ran for the soldiers at sight, jumping over 2 feet high and crossing distances at 25 miles per hour. Even though this creature is quick, it cannot run faster than ten miles, and it does not chase men to hunt them, but to hide in their shadows away from the sun. And although the camel spider is said to jump high, it is not able to jump at all.
Now, isn't that disappointing?
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