Scorpion killed by a "Camel Spider"

[XOskeletonRED]

I received an E-mail a while back from Victor Fet and this site was included in it. I'm posting it for anyone who either has ability to play Quicktime video files (.mov) or is interested enough in seeing a scorpion being killed by a "camel spider, wind scorpion, wind spider" aka solfugid (sp?) to download it. The player download can be acquired by downloading the video and using your web service to find the appropriate software to view it. The software download takes about an hour and I'm not sure how long the video is, but Victor did mention that he believed the scorpion to be Androctonus (australis is the species I think he mentioned).

http://www.boreme.com/bm/APR04/a/i_camel_spider/jump_fr.htm

Click on the link to watch the video of the scorpion being killed by a Camel spider below the pic and then, click download to get the video, then open it if you've already got the software, if not, use your web service and wait to watch. Hope you enjoy (maybe you wont have to wait a friggin' hour for the download cause you have something better than dial-up?).

adios,
edw.

Edit: I finally got to watch it...not too bad, but I'd like to see that camel spider try that with a good sized Pandinus or Heterometrus that is on the attack! *lol* Big pedipalp make camel spider's head go pop!

 

[arachnoid]

I've seen that vid before but I never get tired of watching it. Anyone have any ideas what species are involved though? The scorp appeared to have a very fat/thick tail when it was climbing down from the rock.

 

[Mr. X]

Not sure but looked like Parabuthus Transvaalicus

Xav

 

[carpe scorpio]

I also have/hate dialup, man those things are voracious eaters!. I caught one of a smaller species in California and it ate everything that I fed it, looked like it had swallowed a jelly-bean by the time I finally released it.

 

[ShaunHolder]

Nice!

Thats one bad assed spider. Are these things available to purchase anywhere?

 

[carpe scorpio]

I have seen them on dealer lists occasionally, but they have a short life-span. "The candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long".

 

[XOskeletonRED]

Thats one bad assed spider. Are these things available to purchase anywhere?

Occasionally they are available on dealer lists as well as pet stores. I had a one that was imported from Israel (I think, as there wasn't much info avail from the seller at the time). While they are very aggressive and fast, they also have a difficult time eating small prey items such as crickets, at least, in my experience with the one I had. I believed it was due to the structure of their mouthparts having been moreso set-up for larger prey items. It would've been too costly to attempt to feed it scorpions and larger items of the sort. They are also very difficult to keep and moreso to breed, which is why they are almost never available when young, as well as that they do not survive in captivity for more than a year or so on average. If you decide you want more info on the camel spider, you can post under the "Other Arachnids" forum which pertains to solfugids, true spiders and so forth. That way, the "true scorpion" forum is not overwhelmed by info on an arachnid which does not belong.

adios,
edw.

On another note, they are not venomous and do not have any sort of a stinger, though they have one heck of a bite! Edited Note: the remainder of my remarks on the subject, less it be specifically about the scorpion itself will be directed to the "Other Arachnids" Forum.

 

[Scorpie]

wow thats a mean spider.
i was suprised on how fast its digging was. and also by how co-ordinated it was. the scorpion didnt stand a chance.

 

[ShaunHolder]

I'd love to keep one as a pet to observe. It's short life span wouldn't keep me from having one. I'd just love to have a large tank filled with sand and watch the little guy dig around. Facisnating, and thank you for sharing with us.

 

[ArNT1]

It looks like a mutant spider scorpion

 

[Highlander]

Man I felt kinda sorry for the poor scorpion :8o ,those things are kinda creepy looking

 

[Fergrim]

My emperor would eat the spider alive!

 

[Mr. X]

Hummmm...dont think so

 

[XOskeletonRED]

My emperor would eat the spider alive!

see my edit from last night into the thread-starting post... The camel spider does have a very soft exoskeleton in comparison to a scorpion's and all scorpions have their prey and predators in certain areas. While the camel spider can take a narrow clawed scorpion, they'd rarely live to survive the attack from a large clawed scorp such as Pandinus or Heterometrus, I would think. I'm pretty sure an adult female Opitophthalmus would have a meal as well, but I think a camel spider would take a male Opisto. By the way, off the scorpion's obvious lack of having eaten a lot and pedipalp size, I'd have to guess it to be a male Parabuthus. Most female's would've been fatter anyway.

adios,
edw.

 

[Highlander]

Arn't there some species of wind scorpion that lives in the southwest of the United States and if so couldn't they be a prey or predator of Desert Hairy scorpions/Hadruras arizonensis?

 

[kenniey]

I wanted the scorp to win . dont have much liking for spiders ! And that one a mother wouldint even love !

 

[ShaunHolder]

I was kind of excited to see this bizaare spider win the fight. A very interesting invert to say at the least.

There's no need to get defensive even if the spider can take out most scorpions. I would be interested to see it take on a larger meal tho. It's suprising how fast it was. Spiders usually move faster than scorpions in my expierence, but this spider was exceptionally quick.

 

[Wolvie56X]

id personally like to see it try to take on a nice sized centipede

i watched one eat a cricket up at regals reptiles in rhode island on friday, those suckers are fast and mean and ugly looking, but i dont think it would stand a chance against a big clawed scorp or a centipede

i wouldnt mind owning one, cept they just freak me out, like something from an Alien film or Predator movie, but a good sized emp would take it, maybe even a big Hadrusus, but definately a Hetermetrus could handle it

Wolvie

 

[Scorpiove]

Its not really a spider. Its in its own group "Solifugid". A type of arachnid. It has as much in common with spiders as scorpions do.

 

[XOskeletonRED]

id personally like to see it try to take on a nice sized centipede

i watched one eat a cricket up at regals reptiles in rhode island on friday, those suckers are fast and mean and ugly looking, but i dont think it would stand a chance against a big clawed scorp or a centipede

i wouldnt mind owning one, cept they just freak me out, like something from an Alien film or Predator movie, but a good sized emp would take it, maybe even a big Hadrusus, but definately a Hetermetrus could handle it

Wolvie

Centis, like scorps, Ts, true spiders and yes, even "camel spiders" (solfugids [sp?]) can easily become the prey in the right situation. A lot depends on the size of both individuals. As I'm sure you noticed, the scorp was in the open and not aggressing the camel spider but rather attempting to ward it off by shaking it's tail, which led to it's death as it was unsuspecting of the camel spider's attack to the tail followed by a rapid movement into the burrow, dragging the scorp by the tail to prevent it's protecting itself with the claws. A large-clawed scorpion on the other hand, would have most likely attacked with pedipalps in order to disable or warn the attacker of it's capabilities and scorps, spiders, etc, would most likely be hunting from their burrow which naturally gives them the edge anyway (camel spiders prefer to be outside their burrow b/c a scorpion will have it's tail raised and it will be easier to attack the tail). All in all, the situation could easily go either way with any of them. The camel spiders really are interesting to keep, to say the least, though giving one it's natural meals would quickly become very costly, as it would require a large selection of prey items, some of which aren't cheap and the same can easily be said about scorps, Ts and the rest.

adios,
edw.