Description

These creatures are commonly known as wind scorpions, sun spiders, or camel spiders. In fact they are neither scorpions nor spiders, but a separate family of arachnids. They mostly live in deserts and move very quickly to escape bright light and heat, giving them their name (solifuge meaning “fleeing the sun”). Solifuges are difficult for a layperson to identify because resources are scarce.

A solifuge has no stinger and no venom. Their chelicerae (external mouth parts) are extraordinary; in some species they are larger than the creature’s prosoma. They are similar to a pair of crab claws pinching and tearing in turn; Wikipedia has an excellent animation here.

Images of solifugae