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{{Taxobox begin | color = pink | name = Solifugae}}
{{Taxobox image | image = [[Image:Wind_scorpion.JPG|250px|Wind Scorpion]] | caption = ''Wind scorpion''}}
{{Taxobox begin placement | color = pink}}
{{Taxobox regnum entry | taxon = [[Animal]]ia}}
{{Taxobox phylum entry | taxon = [[Arthropoda]]}}
{{Taxobox classis entry | taxon = [[Arachnid]]a}}
{{Taxobox ordo entry | taxon = '''Solifugae'''}}
{{Taxobox end placement}}
{{Taxobox section subdivision | color = pink | plural_taxon = Genera}}
''[[Eremobates]]''<br>
''[[Syndaesia]]''
{{Taxobox end}}
A '''Solifugid''' (plural form '''Solifugae''') is an [[arachnid]] belonging to the order '''Solifugae'''. The order is also known by the names '''Solpugida''', '''Solifugae''', '''Solpugides''', '''Solpugae''', '''Galeodea''', and '''Mycetophorae'''.
The order includes 900 known species, whose nicknames include "'''wind scorpion'''", "'''sun spider'''", and "'''camel spider'''".
Most solifuges live in tropical or semitropical regions, where they inhabit warm and arid habitats. Some species however also live in grassland or forest habitats. The most distinctive features of solifuges is their large [[chelicera|chelicerae]]. Each of the two chelicerae are composed of two articles forming a powerful pincer; each article bears a variable number of teeth. Males in all families but Eremobatidae possess a [[flagellum]] on the basal article of the chelicera. Solifuges also have long [[pedipalp|pedipalps]], which function as sense organs similar to the insects [[antenna|antennae]]. Pedipalps terminate in eversible [[adhesive organ|adhesive organs]].
Solifuges are carnivorous or omnivorous, with most species feeding on [[termite|termites]], [[darlikng beetle|darkling beetles]] and other small arthropods. Prey is located with the pedipalps and killed and cut into pieces by the chelicerae. The prey is then liquified and the liquid ingested through the pharynx. Reproduction can involve direct or indirect [[sperm]] transfer; when indirect, the male emits a [[spermatophore]] on the ground and then inserts it with his chelicerae in the female's genital pore.
The name Solifugae comes from [[Latin]] and means (roughly) "flee from the sun", which they do. They are mostly [[nocturnal|active at night]] and seek shade during the day, a behavior which made coalition soldiers in the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|2003 invasion]] of [[Iraq]] think these arachnids were attacking them. In reality, they were moving toward the newly available shade provided by the soldiers' presence. The absence of shade sends them away.
<!-- more detail needed: sizes of different species, etc.
The leg span of Camel Spiders in the [[Middle East]] may reach 5 inches while in North America they are typically around 1-1/2 to 2 inches.
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==Myths==
Solifugae are the subject of many [[myths]] and exaggerations about their size, speed, behavior, appetite, and lethality. They are not especially large or fast; the biggest have a legspan of perhaps 5 inches, and the fastest can run perhaps 10 miles per hour. They have no [[venom]] and do not spin [[Spiderweb|webs]]. In the [[Middle East]] it is commonly believed that Solifugae will feed on living human flesh. The story goes that the creature will inject an anesthetizing venom into the exposed skin of its sleeping victim, then feed voraciously, leaving the victim to awaken with a gaping wound. Solifugae, however, do not produce such an anesthetic and do not attack prey larger than themselves.
=== Classification ===
[[Image:Wind_scorpion2.JPG|thumb|right|300px|Wind scorpion, Eastern Washington, USA]]
There are thirteen families belonging to the order Solifugae:
** [[Ammotrechidae]]
** [[Ceromidae]]
** [[Daesiidae]]
** [[Eremobatidae]]
** [[Galeodidae]]
** [[Gylippidae]]
** [[Hexisopodidae]]
** [[Karschiidae]]
** [[Karschiidae]]
** [[Melanoblossidae]]
** [[Mummuciidae]]
** [[Rhagodidae]]
** [[Solpugidae]]
==External
*[http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp Snopes article on camel spider myths]
*[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0629_040629_camelspider.html National Geographic article on Camel Spiders]
*[http://www.chinapost1.org/guestbook.asp ''Camel Spider Blues''] (scroll down to the June 9, 2004 guestbook entry)
*[http://www.camel-spiders.net Camel Spiders]
[[Category:Arachnids]]
[[de:Kamelspinne]]
[[pl:Solpugi]]
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