One of the unexpected things our troops are dealing with in Iraq are Camel Spiders! Below is a picture of a soldier holding 2 Camel Spiders.

Camel Spider /Wind Scorpion

The camel spider isn't really a spider, because it is also called a wind scorpion. BUT it is NOT a scorpion either. It is related to BOTH the spiders and the scorpions, and it belongs to its own group of animals. This large arachnid looks like a huge hairy spider and is unique to the desert. It can be as long as 6 inches across! Camel spiders like to live in barren parts of the desert far away from humans. They don't like oases either, and they feel most at home in the open, uninhabited places of the desert. Most of the time camel spiders hide in their burrows, coming out only when they're hungry. So when they do come out at night to feed, they are very ferocious and dangerous. A hunting camel spider runs across the desert floor almost at lightning speed, and it is so fast that it is impossible for the human eye to follow. When it senses its prey, the camel spider chases after it until it is caught. The greedy camel spiders have a big appetite - they will eat and eat and eat and eat until their bodies are swollen with food and they can hardly move an inch! Then, with great difficulty I imagine, it crawls back to its safe, cosy burrow. The reason why camel spiders have managed to live so successfully in the desert is probably because they spend as little time as they can on the dangerous surface where there are lots of predators.