---
title: "What the sources say about the Egyptian Giant Solpugid | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "39 claims from the Egyptian Giant Solpugid profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Egyptian Giant Solpugid (*Galeodes arabs*)

> 39 claims from the Egyptian Giant Solpugid profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Egyptian Giant Solpugid](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/egyptian-giant-solpugid/)

## Camel Spider. National Geographic.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/camel-spider

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A camel spider, which is not a spider at all | Camel spiders are not even spiders. (note: 'not a spider at all' paraphrases the source's 'not even spiders'.) |
| with jaws that chop its prey to pulp | turn them to pulp with a chopping or sawing motion |
| Deserts | These hardy desert dwellers (note: stats.habitat. Group scope (camel spiders); the WAC range countries are largely arid.) |
| Camel spiders kill insects, rodents, lizards and small birds | visit death upon insects, rodents, lizards, and small birds |
| Camel spider jaws reach up to one-third of body length | large, powerful jaws, which can be up to one-third of their body length |
| Not Evaluated | IUCN Red List Status : ? Not evaluated (note: GBIF has no Red List category for Galeodes arabs; no assessment DOI exists.) |
| camel spiders are not spiders. They share the class Arachnida with spiders but belong to the solpugids | Camel spiders are not even spiders. Like spiders, they are members of the class Arachnida, but they are actually solpugids. |
| the Egyptian giant solpugid (Galeodes arabs) is the species National Geographic files under the camel spider name | Common Name : Camel Spider Scientific Name : Galeodes arabs (note: Same page: 'Camel spiders, also called wind scorpions and Egyptian giant solpugids'.) |
| Camel 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 | 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. |
| They do not eat camels' stomachs or sleeping soldiers either | These creatures do not actually eat camels' stomachs or sleeping soldiers |
| Pictures 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 | 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. |
| Real camel spiders are only about 6 inches long | are only about 6 inches long |
| National Geographic's fact file gives a weight of 2 ounces | 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.) |
| a wild lifespan of up to a year | Average Life Span In The Wild : Up to 1 years (note: Fact box on the camel spider page; '1 years' rendered as 'a year'.) |
| Flat out, a camel spider is estimated to manage 10 miles per hour | Their top speed is estimated at 10 miles per hour. |
| That is quick only when compared with other arachnids | True, they are fast, but only compared to other arachnids. |
| The rumor that one can keep pace with a running person does not hold up | rumors have painted camel spiders as large, venomous predators, as fast as a running human... The myths are untrue. |
| Camel spider jaws are large and powerful, and can reach up to one-third of the body length | These hardy desert dwellers boast large, powerful jaws, which can be up to one-third of their body length. |
| The animal grabs its victim with them and chops or saws it into pulp | They use them to seize their victims and turn them to pulp with a chopping or sawing motion. |
| Prey includes insects, rodents, lizards and small birds | visit death upon insects, rodents, lizards, and small birds |
| Digestive fluids turn the flesh to liquid, and the camel spider sucks up what is left | they do utilize digestive fluids to liquefy their victims' flesh, making it easy to suck the remains into their stomachs |
| Camel spiders are not venomous, and they are not deadly to humans, though their bite is painful | Camel spiders are not deadly to humans (though their bite is painful)... Camel spiders are not venomous |
| Camel spiders, the group National Geographic files it under, are arachnids like spiders, yet they form a separate group, the solpugids | Like spiders, they are members of the class Arachnida, but they are actually solpugids. |
| The same page lists "wind scorpion" as another of their names | Camel spiders, also called wind scorpions and Egyptian giant solpugids |
| National Geographic states that camel spiders have no venom and pose no deadly threat to people, but a bite still hurts | Camel spiders are not deadly to humans (though their bite is painful)... Camel spiders are not venomous |
| Their weapons are the jaws and digestive fluids | 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 |
| National Geographic puts the top speed at an estimated 10 miles per hour | Their top speed is estimated at 10 miles per hour. |
| Fast for an arachnid | True, they are fast, but only compared to other arachnids. |
| the old rumor that they match a running human is a myth | rumors have painted camel spiders as large, venomous predators, as fast as a running human... The myths are untrue. |
| Camel spiders seize prey in huge jaws and chop or saw it into pulp | They use them to seize their victims and turn them to pulp with a chopping or sawing motion. (note: vibe.reason) |

## Cloudsley-Thompson (1961). Some aspects of the physiology and behaviour of Galeodes arabs. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1570-7458.1961.tb02140.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A 1961 study that tracked its activity found Galeodes arabs nocturnal, especially in the hot season | 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.) |
| It also loses water slowly through its body surface in dry air | It has a low rate of water-loss by transpiration in dry air. |
| The study sorted its responses to enemies and prey into alertness, threat, and high-intensity threat with stridulation | Behaviour responses to enemies and prey are classified as alertness, threat, high intensity threat (accompanied by stridulation) |
| which leads to an attack or a getaway. A getaway is often followed by digging in the sand | leading to attack or flight (often followed by displacement sand-digging) |
| Mostly after dark | nocturnal in habit (note: 'Mostly' softens 'nocturnal in habit'; it adds no claim.) |
| Activity recordings in a 1961 study showed it was nocturnal, and especially so in the hot season | shown by aktograph experiments to be nocturnal in habit especially in the hot season (note: 1961 is the reference's publication year.) |

## Galeodes arabs C.L. Koch, 1842. World Solifugae Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern.

https://wac.nmbe.ch/order/solifugae/speciesdata/6291

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| It was first described in 1842 | Galeodes arabs C.L. Koch, 1842 SPECIES \| ACCEPTED (note: Described by C.L. Koch.) |
| from specimens with a vague type locality: simply "Arabia" | Type locality: Arabia. Coordinates Locality Lat Lon 1 Arabia (IMPRECISE) (note: Type repository: 'Syntypes: several (ZMB 169)', hence plural specimens.) |
| The World Solifugae Catalog records it from Morocco and Niger to Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Turkey | Distribution Distribution table Algeria Djibouti Egypt Ethiopia Iran Iraq Israel Kenya Libya Morocco Niger Oman Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia Turkey Yemen |