Can a Camel Spider take down a Camel?

Question

There's an argument at work and its driving me nuts

Answer 1

No.  The camel spider, also called a sun spider, wind scorpion or solipugid looks pretty fearsome, but unless you're a small insect or lizard, they're pretty harmless.

Unlike true spiders, camel spiders don't have venom glands at all.  In spiders, the chelicerae form a pair of fangs used to inject venom, but in camel spiders the chelicerae are a pair of huge claws used to catch and rip apart prey.  Although they can deliver a fairly nasty pinch with these, it's unlikely they could even penetrate a camel's thick hide.

Answer 2

No....

I have heard that rumor too, among many others.  Camel spiders are called camel spiders simply because they live in deserts.  They are also called Solifugids, Windscorpions, Windspiders, and Sunspiders, even though they are neither spiders nor scorpions.  They belong to their own group of arachnids alongside spiders and scorpions.

If you want to defeat your co-workers with facts, read the following;

http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/sp...

http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/sp...