Have you ever heard of a camel spider?

[Horse with no Name]

Geez this is bad shit.

http://www.camelspider.info/index.php

* Camel spiders can grow to be as large as dinner plates.
* Camel spiders can traverse desert sand at speeds up to 25 MPH, making screaming noises as they run.
* Camel spiders can jump several feet in the air.
* Camel spiders eat the stomachs of camels, hence the name "camel spider." (Legend includes the detail that camel spiders eat camel stomachs from either the outside in or the inside out. In the former case they supposedly jump up from the ground and grab onto camels' bellies from underneath; in the latter case exactly how spiders allegedly as large as dinner plates get into camels' stomachs intact remains unexplained.)
* Camel spiders are venomous, and their venom contains a powerful anesthetic that numbs their victims (thus allowing them to gnaw away at living, immobilized animals without being noticed). U.S. soldiers were said to have been attacked by camel spiders at night but remained completely unaware of their plight until they awakened in the morning to find chunks of their flesh missing.

[Midlodemocrat]

1. Yikes. I thought camelback crickets were bad.

[jim3775]

2. Famous photo

It's real.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp

[Vadem]

8. This picture is creeping me out! OMG is this really the size of...

that spider???? I have such a phobia about spiders and this is really doing me in! Is this really the size of this spider??? If so, I won't sleep a wink!

[shadowknows69]

9. fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck that

no wonder our troops are having a hard time. they probably need patrols dedicated just to killing these fuckers. what is this Klendathu?

[nykiera]

3. Snopes debunks most of that.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp

"These claims are all false. Camel spiders (so named because, like camels, they can be found in sandy desert regions, although they aren't technically spiders) grow to be moderately large (about a 5"-6" leg span), but nowhere near as large as dinner plates; they can move very quickly in comparison to other arthropods (a top speed of maybe 10 MPH), but nothing close 25 MPH; they make no noise; and they capture prey without the use of either venom or anesthetic. Camel spiders rely on speed, stealth, and the (non-venomous) bite of powerful jaws to feed on small prey such as other arthropods (e.g., scorpions, crickets, pillbugs), lizards, and possibly mice or birds. They use only three pairs of legs in running; the frontmost pair (called pedipalpa) is held aloft and used in a similar manner to the antennae of insects. Camel spiders shun the sun and generally hide during the day, coming out at night to do their hunting."

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Camel spiders would be bad critters if this were true, but it's not.

Debunked at Snopes.com. They're real, but the description is way off.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp

[justabob]

5. Yes, they are nasty creatures...

...Not something I would ever want to run into. *shudder*

[tjwash]

6. That's old.Snopes old.And all false and debunked as well. nt

[genieroze]

7. Yuck!!!!!

[bikebloke]

10. Scorpion spiders

We used to encounter those in the Negev desert. They were about as big as your hand with a red beak. They'd raise their forlegs menacingly if disturbed, then attack. I don't know whether they were poisonous or not, or if they really were called scorpion spiders, but they were sure vicious looking. Of course they were real scorpions, the jericho fly - which after biting would leave a oozing for lasting for six months, vipers and land mines.

[Fridays Child]

11. Why do I open pages that I know will freak the shit out of me?

Why do I do that? :shrug:

[boston bean]

12. that really just freaked me right out. I had no idea there were

spiders that big and gross.

I might have nightmares!