Iraq Camel Spiders - WOW!

[LASERRAY]

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.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/3381image001.jpg :eek:

[PHX ATC]

Are they getting busy or biting each other's head off.
Nasty sheeet.

[LASERRAY]

The bottom one looks like it has 10 white golf tees near its hind quarters. WTF is that? :confused:

[RiverKitty]

Eeeeeek! :eek:
Those could walk away with a small child!!! :eek:

[fourspeednup]

**** dat shit nigga:yuk:

[LASERRAY]

I wonder if those taste as good as Lobster.:idea2:

[RiverKitty]

YUK! :yuk:

[LASERRAY]

Originally posted by RiverKitty
YUK! :yuk: It's All Good!:D

[RiverKitty]

Are they dangerous? :confused:

[fourspeednup]

Originally posted by RiverKitty
Are they dangerous? :confused:
I can't imagine they're good for you;)

[HammerDown]

Originally posted by LASERRAY
I wonder if those taste as good as Lobster.:idea2:
My thoughts exactly...put them bitches on the BBQ!:p

[LASERRAY]

Originally posted by HammerDown
My thoughts exactly...put them bitches on the BBQ!:p That's a no brainer!:wink: The tough part would be choosing Tapatio or Cholula.:cool:

[RiverKitty]

Can you imagine the amount of Raid you'd have to use on those bad boys???

[Rexone]

10 lb sledge. Fix em right up.

[totenhosen]

that is some nasty stuff

[twistedpair]

Looks like what we in the desert would call a 'sun scorpion', although those are about twice the size of any that I have seen.:eek!:

[hd&boatrider]

From what I have been told they eat scorpions and can run as fast as 30MPH :eek!:

[bear down]

NBC better not see these pictures, they might put them on the next Fear Factor!!

[OGShocker]

Originally posted by bear down
NBC better not see these pictures, they might put them on the next Fear Factor!!
F'in potato bugs last week were gross enough.!

[78Eliminator]

I think after seeing that, the rest of my life I am going to conduct thourough sleeping bag inspections every time I go camping...

[JetBoatRich]

Hard to believe somthing that big sneaks into a sleeping bag:yuk:
I agree always check your sak:D

[ahhell]

I'd think you'd have to ask it to move over before you got in the sleeping bag...maybe they were spooning:D

[RiverKitty]

Looks like this was the big war-related April Fool of 2003. No, there really is such an animal as the camel spider, but its powers of ingestion have been highly exaggerated. An email was going around the Internet last week that claimed that the troops in Iraq were encountering camel spiders and discovering all kinds of amazing facts about the creatures.
They run over 25 miles per hour. They make squealing noises like a child screaming when they scamper about. Worst of all, they are called "camel spiders" because they climb onto the bellies of camels and eat their stomachs from the outside, numbing the flesh by secreting a natural anesthetic. The camels don't even notice until their intestines fall out.
None of which is true.
In reality, camel spiders aren't some mysterious Arabian creature -- we have them in the United States and in Mexico, where they are called matevenados. They are slightly smaller than the human hand, and while they do run quickly, their top speed is 10 miles per hour, not 25. But they also make no noise, they excrete no venom, and although they can be voracious nocturnal predators, they don't eat camels. They eat delicious crickets and pillbugs, and sometimes scorpions.
Camel Spider Movie (http://www.ecologicproductions.com/video_projects/TSCK/endangered/TSCK_spider.html)
(Requires QuickTime)

[JetBoatRich]

RK, still a big bug:eek:
I do like the imagination of people making these things as camel eating spiders:D

[RiverKitty]

JBR,
Yes, it is amazing how stories get embelished from person to person.
A few years back, I was doing laundry at my mom's house and found a "smaller" camel spider hiding in the clothes. Scared the $hyte out of me!!! Looked similar to a baby scorpion. The kids insisted that we capture in a glass jar. Upon further internet investigation we found it was called a desert and or sun scorpion....and yet it's not a scorpion at all! Although I had NO idea they grew THAT large! Yuk! Could you imagine finding one that large in your laundry??? :eek: You'd have to peel me off the ceiling!!!

[JetBoatRich]

Originally posted by RiverDave
So is the picture a photochop? Or is it real?
RD
I believe the picture is real and the stories are stretched a little:rolleyes:

[OutCole'd]

Could you imagine getting in a fight with that thing,
GET IT IN A HEAD LOCK!!!!

[PlyaPlya22]

Have you ever seen a camel run? Show him one of those Mo Fo's..:D

[AdrenelineOD]

I found a scorpion in my bag in Glamis. They all said " Told you to check your bag". I`m willing to bet they don`t have a very strong venom (camel spiders) if any at all cuz I am an animal freak and I never herd of these. I want to look them up. Are they called anything different?

[Schiada76]

Look at the guys sleeve in relation to the spiders. It's the zoom in with something in the background to f up the perspective trick. They are big though and faster than chit.
I was fishing in East Cape a few years ago and one night after gettin busy wit da wifey I turned on the light and one of these fockers was on the wall about 10 feet up. Room had a high vaulted ceiling and palm frond roof. I grabbed my rod (fishing) and tried to smack him but he kept dodging me. I end up chasing the focker around the room for about 15 minutes, drunk on Tequila and naked. I finally pinned him behind a stool slowing him down long enough to smack him with a shoe. The legs stuck out past my size 12 about another inch on both sides. In the meantime wifey stayed in bed with the covers pulled up to her chin and alternately laughing at a naked maniac chasing a giant spider around and screaming when it headed in her direction. It would have been a FINE video!:D :D

[RUNFAST]

REVOLTING :yuk:
JUST NUKE THE WHOLE DAMN PLACE AND BE DONE WITH IT ! :mad:

[Scream]

Is that like one of the "vinegaroons" they talk about around our deserts here? I've never seen either in person. Talk about arachniphopia! Yikes.

[beer hunter]

Damn, that's one big ass bug!!

[Dave C]

Originally posted by LASERRAY
The bottom one looks like it has 10 white golf tees near its hind quarters. WTF is that? :confused:
HIS Schlong.....

[hd&boatrider]

Out in Bullhead one night we were all drunk and being silly sitting out on the patio and one of those bugs ran by us. Scared the shit out of everybody and it was very big and fast. One of the guys was an ex-marine and he went into stealth mode to to get him. He finally got him...set the sucka on fire and the bug started running while on fire. We laughed for an hour after that non-stop and resumed our drinking.
Originally posted by RiverKitty
JBR,
Yes, it is amazing how stories get embelished from person to person.
A few years back, I was doing laundry at my mom's house and found a "smaller" camel spider hiding in the clothes. Scared the $hyte out of me!!! Looked similar to a baby scorpion. The kids insisted that we capture in a glass jar. Upon further internet investigation we found it was called a desert and or sun scorpion....and yet it's not a scorpion at all! Although I had NO idea they grew THAT large! Yuk! Could you imagine finding one that large in your laundry??? :eek: You'd have to peel me off the ceiling!!!

[Havasu Cig]

We used to "pit" Camel Spiders and Scorpions against each other during the 1st Gulf war. The spiders would usually kill quite a few scorpions untill the numerous stings from multiple fights would catch up to them.
We would also "pit" scorpions against each other as well, and bet on the outcome. You have to find ways to entertain yourself when there ain't crap to do. Eventually an order came down from the Commanding General that we could not do it anymore.
The Camel Spiders I saw over there were not as big as the ones in the picture, but they were as big if not slightly bigger than a Human hand.
:cool: