http://www.camelspiders.net/large-camel-spider.jpg
The above image shows (2) camel spiders hanging on to each other,
this photo was taken in IRAQ, and these spiders can run up to 15-20 mph.

This picture is a perfect example of why you don't want to go to the desert. These are 2 of the biggest I've ever seen. With a vertical leap that would make a pro basketball player weep with envy (they have to be able to jump up on to a camels stomach after all), they latch on and inject you with a local anesthesia so you can't feel it feeding on you. They eat flesh, not just suck out your juices like a normal spider.

FYI

Camel spiders eat the stomachs of camels, 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.)

FYI

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.

THIS INFORMATION IS 100% CORRECT!

***Cold Dread type shudder***
AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!
As you may have guessed, I'm arachnophobic.

nasty bugger :)

ofcause its not as fun, but....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_spider
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solifugae

Holy crap, dude!
I wonder if Halliburton caught some for their biological weapons program.

Where's Ripley when you need her?

yes commie hamster, i can see how these pose a threat to small rodents as yourself...

how do we know this wasn't saddam's bioweap to begin with? could be the elusive WMDs...

Thank you Kunax. See also www.snopes.com:

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, 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.

According to most spider experts, these claims are all false. Camel spiders (so named because, like camels, they can be found in sandy desert regions) grow to be moderately large (about a 5" 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 whatever is shown in the photograph above appears to be far too large for camel spiders, the creatures look unusually large because they were held close to the camera, creating an illusion of exaggerated size. (Note the man's sleeve which appears on the right of the picture.)
http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp

Looks like a land lobster.

I wonder what it would taste like broiled and served with drawn butter?

*Would be fun to release a dozen of these in a cinema full of people during "Aliens" or something. :cool: :D

that would be funny avatar. My father has told me anecdotes from Marines while over there. Apparently these things can outrun a man, and hop onto his back, and chew out chunks of back meat(supposing the guy isn't wearing any ceramic armor). Apparently they try to shoot the spiders as they come at you, but its pretty hard, so if it gets too close, they whip out the combat knives, and go hand-to-hand. :m:

*gasps* I think now I know for certain where they got their idea for those first stage aliens in the Aliens films!
These spiders run, try to get on your neck, try to chew in... :eek:
Maybe ask your father if the troops have noticed the resemblance with the Aliens movies. :)

Now, in the Amazon, they have spiders the size of dinner plates....I saw one on the wall of a bar, and thought it was a painting until it got up and walked away.

sucker was THIS BIG (hold hands all the way apart), swear to god.

Camel spiders are for girls.

Now this is a mans spider..

http://www.thais.it/entomologia/ragni/md_res/00002.jpg



Gentlemen say hello to Theraphosa leblondi better known as the "Goliath Bird Eating Spider".

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/goliath_bird_eating_spider.htm

Sweet dreams and keep the budgies cage well locked tonight...
Dee Cee

I would stay away from the funnel-web spider:

http://www.austmus.gov.au/factsheets/images/funnelweb3.jpg

It has been said (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_funnel-web_spider) that no one survived the bite of an adult male spider of this type up until the development of antivenom in 1980. However this may be misleading as we have no way of being sure that all bites were reported. The bite of a male is certainly a cause for grave concern, however. The venom is known to cause death within a period ranging from three and half-hours to three days.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/features/spiderweb/gfx/farmer_fence.jpg

http://www.cbc.ca/news/features/spiderweb/

http://socalstrippers.com/img1/dmtruckee1.jpg

This one I think is kinda funny - if you think about it
http://socalstrippers.com/img1/FIX.jpg

"According to most spider experts, these claims are all false..."

How disappointing. I liked that picture alot more before my attention was drawn to the sleave too.
I understand debunking things like god and other shit that doesn't matter, but science has gone too far this time.

I agree. I had gotten all excited on nature again, and now it turns out that nature is still gay.