Solifugae

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(Redirected from Solpugida)

{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Solifugae | image = Solfuga CM.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = Solifugae from Iraq | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Arthropoda | classis = Arachnida | ordo = Solifugae | ordo_authority = Sundevall, 1833 | subdivision_ranks = Families | subdivision = See text. }}

A Solifugid (plural form Solifugae) is an arachnid belonging to the order Solifugae, Latin for They flee from the sun. The order is also known by the names Solpugida, Solifugae, Solpugides, Solpugae, Galeodea, and Mycetophorae. The order includes 900 known species, whose common names include "windscorpion", "sun spider", and "camel spider".

Most solifugae live in tropical or semitropical regions where they inhabit warm and arid habitats, but some species have been known to live in grassland or forest habitats. The most distinctive feature of solifugae is their large chelicerae. Each of the two chelicerae are composed of two articles forming a powerful pincer; each article bears a variable number of teeth. Males in all families but Eremobatidae possess a flagellum on the basal article of the chelicera. Solifugae also have long pedipalps, which function as sense organs similar to insects' antennae and give the appearance of the two extra legs. Pedipalps terminate in eversible adhesive organs.

Solifugae are carnivorous or omnivorous, with most species feeding on termites, darkling beetles, and other small arthropods. Prey is located with the pedipalps and killed and cut into pieces by the chelicerae. The prey is then liquified and the liquid ingested through the pharynx. Reproduction can involve direct or indirect sperm transfer; when indirect, the male emits a spermatophore on the ground and then inserts it with his chelicerae in the female's genital pore.

As indicated by their name, Solifugae are mostly nocturnal, and seek shade during the day. It is this behavior which led coalition soldiers in the 2003 invasion of Iraq to think these arachnids were attacking them. In reality, they were merely moving toward the newly available shade provided by the soldiers' presence. The absence of shade sends them away.

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Myths

Solifugae are the subject of many myths and exaggerations about their size, speed, behavior, appetite, and lethality. They are not especially large, the biggest having a legspan of perhaps 5 inches, and although they are fast on land compared to other invertebrates, the fastest can run perhaps 10 miles per hour, a common running speed for many humans. Members of this order of Arachnidae have no venom and do not spin webs. In the Middle East, it is common belief among American soldiers stationed there that Solifugae will feed on living human flesh. The story goes that the creature will inject some anesthetizing venom into the exposed skin of its sleeping victim, then feed voraciously, leaving the victim to awaken with a gaping wound. Solifugae, however, do not produce such an anesthetic, and, like most creatures with any sort of survival instinct, they do not attack prey larger than themselves unless they feel they must, such as situations of defense or protection of young. A photograph widely circulated through e-mail shows a soldier dangling two from his hand but, because of another soldier's legs in the background, the perspective is changed from the first soldier's sleeve to the other's feet thus making the spiders appear much larger. Due to their bizarre appearance and the fact that they produce a hissing sound when they feel threatened, many people are startled or even afraid of them. However, the greatest threat they pose to humans is their bite in self-defense when one tries to handle them. There is no chance of death directly caused by the bite, but, due to the strong muscles of their chelicerae, they can produce a proportionately large, ragged wound which is prone to infection. While one species, Rhagodes nigrocinctus, does appear to possess venom, its bite is not known to be harmful to humans.

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