Galeodes arabs

Galeodes arabs
Galeodes arabs from Libya
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Solifugae
Family:	Galeodidae
Genus:	Galeodes
Species:	G. arabs
Binomial name
Galeodes arabs C. L. Koch, 1842

Galeodes arabs, common name Egyptian giant solpugid or camel spider, is a species of solifuges (or sun spiders) native to North Africa and Western Asia.

Subspecies

• Galeodes arabs arabs — Carl Ludwig Koch, 1842
• Galeodes arabs syriacus — Karl Kraepelin, 1899

Description

Galeodes arabs is one of the larger species of camel spider and can reach a length of about 15 centimetres (5.9 in). They have large, powerful jaws, reaching one-third of their body length. They are nocturnal. They can reach a speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). They are not venomous, but their bite is painful.

Diet

They eat insects, small rodents and lizards. Using their chelicerae, they can chop and saw their victim’s flesh. Their jaws are equipped to shear hair and quills from their prey as well as cut through skin and the thin bones of small birds. They then utilise digestive juices to liquefy the flesh of their prey so they can suck it into their bodies.

Predators

Some of their predators are large slit-faced bats, scorpions, toads and other insectivores or camel spiders. They are heliophobic and nocturnal in order to avoid predators, have better hunting and stay out of the hot sun.