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Just Plain Weird Stories

Solpugid Eremobates sp. Small Western U.S. species; much larger Near East species are called "camel spiders" but are not spiders. (from a photo by Ken Davis) Click image to enlarge

Myth: In the deserts of the Near East, there are "camel spiders" that anaesthetize sleeping humans and eat large chunks of their flesh.

Fact: This legend is widespread in Arab countries but was unknown in North America until it was disseminated by Gulf War veterans and repeated by the uninformed narrator of a TV documentary. Since this section was originally written, a much more extensive body of "camel spider" legends has arisen from the Iraq war; the newer ones are discussed in the next section.

"Camel spider" is a common name for solpugids, large non-spider arachnids found in desert regions. Solpugids (possibly excepting one species in India) have no venom, not even an anaesthetic, nor any means of delivering a venom even if they had any, and are strictly predatory on smaller creatures.

A number of soldiers have written me claiming this legend is, nonetheless, true. But not a single one has been able to supply the name, rank and serial number of any victim - or even just a name! It always happened to "a friend," the friend never has a name, and no matter how far down the line you follow the story, that elusive named person is always at least one "friend" away. That's how urban legends work.

Text © 2003, Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, University of Washington, Box 353010, Seattle, WA 98195, USA Phone: 206-543-5590 Photos © as credited

Queries to Spider Myths author, Rod Crawford This page last updated 8 June, 2005 This site best viewed at 800 x 600 using IE 5.0 or above.