What the sources say
Egyptian Giant SolpugidGaleodes arabs
Every figure, record and mechanism on the Egyptian Giant Solpugid profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 39 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.
Profile updated
Source
01
National Geographic
Camel Spider. National Geographic.
- The page saysA camel spider, which is not a spider at all
- The source says
Camel spiders are not even spiders.
Note: 'not a spider at all' paraphrases the source's 'not even spiders'. - The page sayswith jaws that chop its prey to pulp
- The source says
turn them to pulp with a chopping or sawing motion
- The page saysDeserts
- The source says
These hardy desert dwellers
Note: stats.habitat. Group scope (camel spiders); the WAC range countries are largely arid. - The page saysCamel spiders kill insects, rodents, lizards and small birds
- The source says
visit death upon insects, rodents, lizards, and small birds
- The page saysCamel spider jaws reach up to one-third of body length
- The source says
large, powerful jaws, which can be up to one-third of their body length
- The page saysNot Evaluated
- The source says
IUCN Red List Status : ? Not evaluated
Note: GBIF has no Red List category for Galeodes arabs; no assessment DOI exists. - The page sayscamel spiders are not spiders. They share the class Arachnida with spiders but belong to the solpugids
- The source says
Camel spiders are not even spiders. Like spiders, they are members of the class Arachnida, but they are actually solpugids.
- The page saysthe Egyptian giant solpugid (Galeodes arabs) is the species National Geographic files under the camel spider name
- The source says
Common Name : Camel Spider Scientific Name : Galeodes arabs
Note: Same page: 'Camel spiders, also called wind scorpions and Egyptian giant solpugids'. - The page saysCamel spiders went viral during the 2003 Iraq war, when many online tales came with photos that claimed to show spiders half a person's size
- The source says
Camel spiders became an Internet sensation during the Iraq war of 2003, when rumors of their bloodthirsty nature began to circulate online. Many tales were accompanied with photos purporting to show spiders half the size of a human.
- The page saysThey do not eat camels' stomachs or sleeping soldiers either
- The source says
These creatures do not actually eat camels' stomachs or sleeping soldiers
- The page saysPictures that seem to show camel spiders six times their real size are a trick of perspective: the animal sits in the foreground, where the lens makes it look far bigger
- The source says
Photos that purport to show creatures six times that size have misleading perspective—the spider is invariably placed in the foreground where the lens makes it appear much bigger than its actual size.
- The page saysReal camel spiders are only about 6 inches long
- The source says
are only about 6 inches long
- The page saysNational Geographic's fact file gives a weight of 2 ounces
- The source says
Size : 6 inches Weight : 2 ounces
Note: Fact box on the camel spider page, which names Galeodes arabs; worded as the page's figure, group scope. - The page saysa wild lifespan of up to a year
- The source says
Average Life Span In The Wild : Up to 1 years
Note: Fact box on the camel spider page; '1 years' rendered as 'a year'. - The page saysFlat out, a camel spider is estimated to manage 10 miles per hour
- The source says
Their top speed is estimated at 10 miles per hour.
- The page saysThat is quick only when compared with other arachnids
- The source says
True, they are fast, but only compared to other arachnids.
- The page saysThe rumor that one can keep pace with a running person does not hold up
- The source says
rumors have painted camel spiders as large, venomous predators, as fast as a running human... The myths are untrue.
- The page saysCamel spider jaws are large and powerful, and can reach up to one-third of the body length
- The source says
These hardy desert dwellers boast large, powerful jaws, which can be up to one-third of their body length.
- The page saysThe animal grabs its victim with them and chops or saws it into pulp
- The source says
They use them to seize their victims and turn them to pulp with a chopping or sawing motion.
- The page saysPrey includes insects, rodents, lizards and small birds
- The source says
visit death upon insects, rodents, lizards, and small birds
- The page saysDigestive fluids turn the flesh to liquid, and the camel spider sucks up what is left
- The source says
they do utilize digestive fluids to liquefy their victims' flesh, making it easy to suck the remains into their stomachs
- The page saysCamel spiders are not venomous, and they are not deadly to humans, though their bite is painful
- The source says
Camel spiders are not deadly to humans (though their bite is painful)... Camel spiders are not venomous
- The page saysCamel spiders, the group National Geographic files it under, are arachnids like spiders, yet they form a separate group, the solpugids
- The source says
Like spiders, they are members of the class Arachnida, but they are actually solpugids.
- The page saysThe same page lists "wind scorpion" as another of their names
- The source says
Camel spiders, also called wind scorpions and Egyptian giant solpugids
- The page saysNational Geographic states that camel spiders have no venom and pose no deadly threat to people, but a bite still hurts
- The source says
Camel spiders are not deadly to humans (though their bite is painful)... Camel spiders are not venomous
- The page saysTheir weapons are the jaws and digestive fluids
- The source says
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
- The page saysNational Geographic puts the top speed at an estimated 10 miles per hour
- The source says
Their top speed is estimated at 10 miles per hour.
- The page saysFast for an arachnid
- The source says
True, they are fast, but only compared to other arachnids.
- The page saysthe old rumor that they match a running human is a myth
- The source says
rumors have painted camel spiders as large, venomous predators, as fast as a running human... The myths are untrue.
- The page saysCamel spiders seize prey in huge jaws and chop or saw it into pulp
- The source says
They use them to seize their victims and turn them to pulp with a chopping or sawing motion.
Note: vibe.reason
Source
02
Cloudsley-Thompson 1961
Cloudsley-Thompson (1961). Some aspects of the physiology and behaviour of Galeodes arabs. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata.
- The page saysA 1961 study that tracked its activity found Galeodes arabs nocturnal, especially in the hot season
- The source says
Galeodes arabs is shown by aktograph experiments to be nocturnal in habit especially in the hot season.
Note: 1961 is the reference's publication year; an aktograph is an activity recorder. - The page saysIt also loses water slowly through its body surface in dry air
- The source says
It has a low rate of water-loss by transpiration in dry air.
- The page saysThe study sorted its responses to enemies and prey into alertness, threat, and high-intensity threat with stridulation
- The source says
Behaviour responses to enemies and prey are classified as alertness, threat, high intensity threat (accompanied by stridulation)
- The page sayswhich leads to an attack or a getaway. A getaway is often followed by digging in the sand
- The source says
leading to attack or flight (often followed by displacement sand-digging)
- The page saysMostly after dark
- The source says
nocturnal in habit
Note: 'Mostly' softens 'nocturnal in habit'; it adds no claim. - The page saysActivity recordings in a 1961 study showed it was nocturnal, and especially so in the hot season
- The source says
shown by aktograph experiments to be nocturnal in habit especially in the hot season
Note: 1961 is the reference's publication year.
Source
03
World Solifugae Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern
Galeodes arabs C.L. Koch, 1842. World Solifugae Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern.
- The page saysIt was first described in 1842
- The source says
Galeodes arabs C.L. Koch, 1842 SPECIES | ACCEPTED
Note: Described by C.L. Koch. - The page saysfrom specimens with a vague type locality: simply "Arabia"
- The source says
Type locality: Arabia. Coordinates Locality Lat Lon 1 Arabia (IMPRECISE)
Note: Type repository: 'Syntypes: several (ZMB 169)', hence plural specimens. - The page saysThe World Solifugae Catalog records it from Morocco and Niger to Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Turkey
- The source says
Distribution Distribution table Algeria Djibouti Egypt Ethiopia Iran Iraq Israel Kenya Libya Morocco Niger Oman Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia Turkey Yemen
How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.