On 21 July 2011 Jason, true to his word, sent me several excellent photographs of a camel spider he’d found at his base in Afghanistan. No attempt is presently made to assign Jason’s specimen to family, genus, or species, but progress in that direction is being made. Their top speed is estimated at 10 miles per hour.Camel spiders are not deadly to humans (though their bite is painful), but they are vicious predators that can visit death upon insects, rodents, lizards, and small birds. They use them to seize their victims and turn them to pulp with a chopping or sawing motion. Camel spiders are not venomous, but they do utilize digestive fluids to liquefy their victims' flesh, making it easy to suck the remains into their stomachs. So I stood dead still.“It was only when I saw the guys in stitches laughing I realised they were winding me up.”When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. In 2012 we told the story of Sammy O’Gorman who almost lost his leg after being bitten while on patrol.The Lance Corporal, from Inverness, then serving with 4 SCOTS, was told he might not survive the night.It took 17 operations and more than three years to recover.He now gives talks to help soldiers look out for scorpions and spiders in Afghanistan.The camel spider’s frightening look and tales of soldiers being injured by them have left many serving in Afghanistan in fear.Among them is RAF Corporal Kerri Tucker, 30, from Sleaford, Lincs, who is petrified of them and was the butt of a joke by comrades.She said: “The lads told me there was a huge camel spider. Among them is RAF Corporal Kerri Tucker, 30, from Sleaford, Lincs, who is petrified of them and was the butt of a joke by comrades. Many tales were accompanied with photos purporting to show spiders half the size of a human.For many years, Middle Eastern rumors have painted camel spiders as large, venomous predators, as fast as a running human, with a voracious appetite for large mammals. Like spiders, they are members of the class Arachnida, but they are actually solpugids.Camel spiders, also called wind scorpions and Egyptian giant solpugids (SAHL-pyoo-jids), are only about 6 inches long. They are horrible. All rights reserved True, they are fast, but only compared to other arachnids.
These were later processed and are now posted here. These hardy desert dwellers boast large, powerful jaws, which can be up to one-third of their body length. Sign up today for the best stories straight to your inboxTroops in war-torn Kabul have had more brushes with deadly arachnids than bombs.Soldiers revealed they had been on constant look-out for the creatures that can grow up to six inches long.The creepy crawlies are not venomous but their bites contain bacteria that can do serious harm to humans.Several squaddies in Camp Souter have been spooked by them.Guardsman Shane Darkar, 20, from Cornwall, said he had expected to see a lot more shooting in Afghanistan.“We haven’t seen anything like that. Photos that purport to show creatures six times that size have misleading perspectiveâthe spider is invariably placed in the foreground where the lens makes it appear much bigger than its actual size. The camel spider’s frightening look and tales of soldiers being injured by them have left many serving in Afghanistan in fear.