Camel Spider?!

A wind spider, a sun spider or a wind scorpion, there're so many names for one creature widely known among the public as a camel spider. The reason for such a definition is just because they are found in desert regions, but it isn't actually a spider or a scorpion, it is a solifugae (the name derives from Latin, and means those that flee from the sun.) They live in various places all over the world, mainly in warm and arid.
Camel spiders first were found in the Middle East (Iraq) and also in sandy areas of the southwest United States and Mexico.
There are nearly 900 species which have been discovered so far.
A camel spider is usually seen during the spring and summer months because of the fact that they're afraid of cold weather.
They feed on insects, scorpions, or lizards and it's important to point out that they rarely hunt for prey, which is bigger than they are. They usually kill their victims with the help of chelicerae. Camel spiders often overeat so they become swollen and almost unable to move.

As for the characteristic of this species:
Camel Spiders are usually beige to brown in color, and they have very hairy legs and body. Males are usually smaller than females, with longer legs.
They have eight legs and use only three pairs of them. But it doesn't make any difficulties for them to develop a speed about 10 meters per hour; this is the maximum speed up to which they can move. A camel spider can be 5-6 inches in length. They are nocturnal creatures, so they hunt at night and look for the shade during the day.
Camel spiders are not dangerous for people. Rather often people mistaken, when they start thinking that spiders are hunting for them and even trying to kill them. Spiders will approach any shade if they have such an opportunity, including human shadows, and this gives the impression that they are following and even attacking humans, which obviously isn't true. Camel spiders just trying to hide from the sun.



They can bite only in case of self-defense, when they were disturbed and it's rather painful. Of course, it's necessary to consult a doctor immediately after being bitten by a camel spider, especially if the kind of a spider is unknown, but you should remember that they are not venomous and there's no chance of death directly caused by the bite, although there's a risk of infection.

Some common Camel Spider Myths:
1. Camel spiders can move at speeds over 30 MPH, screaming while they run.
2. Camel spiders can be as large as a frisbee.
3. Camel spiders venom is an anesthetic that numbs their prey.
4. Camel spiders can jump three feet high.
5. Camel spiders get their name because they eat the stomachs of camels.
6. They eat or gnaw on people while they sleep. Due to the numbing effect of their venom, the victim is unaware until they awake.

THE FACTS

Camel spiders top speed - 10 mph. Which is very fast for a such a small creature..


Size: Up to 8 inches, although many of our readers report larger.


Called camel spiders because they live in the desert.


Camel Spiders are solpugids.. Along with spiders, they are members of the class Arachnida.


Most people don't know that the camel spider can also be found in the southwest U.S. and Mexico

Vampire sea spiders

Weird spider-like creatures that live at the bottom of the ocean and use a 'straw' to suck on their prey are baffling scientists.

These sea spiders, some of which are blind, are defying scientific classification. 

Marine zoologist Dr Claudia Arango of the Australian Museum in Sydney agrees they are arthropods, but which type? 

She presented her research on these unusual and poorly understood animals recently at the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research meeting in Hobart.

"They are very weird looking animals," says Arango.

For over 100 years, scientists have been puzzling over how exactly to classify sea spiders or pycnogonids.

They crawl along the bottom of the sea floor, sometimes more than 6000 to 7000 metres down, where they live in the dark, feeding on slow-moving soft-bodied sponges and sea slugs.

The creatures are segmented and have an exoskeleton, which makes them an arthropod, the same grouping as crustaceans, insects, centipedes and spiders.

But they also have a very strange collection of features, including a unique feeding structure.

"They have a proboscis that's like a straw that they insert into the animals and suck out the juices," says Arango.

Such features make it difficult to fit them into any of the known groups of arthropods.

"They look like spiders, but they are not real spiders," says Arango. "It's been very hard to place them in a position within the tree of life."

Arango has been studying the diversity and evolution of sea spiders.

She has been using DNA and morphology to construct a family tree, using 60 species of sea spiders from all over the world.

This Antarctic sea spider has a 70-centimetre leg span
 (Image: Claudia Arango)

Some scientists believe that sea spiders make up a new very primitive group, at the base of the arthropod family tree.

But Arango's findings so far support another theory: that they are more closely related to the arthropod group that includes spiders and scorpions.

She stresses these are only preliminary conclusions though, and the jury remains out.

Arango says the most interesting sea spiders live in Antarctica. They are more diverse, more abundant, bigger and weirder than other sea spiders, she says.

"That makes them a very sexy and attractive fauna."

One type of Antarctic sea spider has an extra body segment giving them five pairs of legs instead of the usual four pairs.

Another type has extremely long legs spanning 70 centimetres. 

Arnago says the diversity and abundance of sea spiders in Antarctica means they probably play a very important role in its ecology, although this is yet to be elucidated.

Hey Guys!

So, this ends our little segment on hybrids. I hope that you liked my segment on hybrids! Please feel free to give me a topic that you would like me to blog about and i will do my best to oblige. Have a happy week!
<3 Jasmine

Leopons!

  OK soo im really excited that i found this. it is a Leopon :) A Leopon is the result of breeding a male leopard and a female lion. The head of the animal is similar to that of a lion while the rest of the bodies carries similarities to leopards. The most successful breeding programme was at the Koshien Hanshin Park in Nishinomiya City, Japan. Leopons are larger than leopards and likes to climb and enjoy water.


sorry this was so short yet again I really couldn't find much more on these beautiful animals :(

Wolf or Dog? You tell me!

Wolfdogs, a hybrid wolf dog mix, are usually a very beautiful mix of arctic or timber wolf and various larger domestic dog breeds. Most wolfdogs exhibit physical characteristics of both the wolf and dog in differing combinations. Scientifically the wolf is known as canis lupus and the dog as canis familiaris. Although closely related, there are anatomical and physiological differences between wolves and dogs. 

In proportion to the rest of the body, wolves have slimmer torsos, longer legs, larger feet, narrower chests, larger heads, larger teeth and more powerful jaws. In addition, unlike most dogs, wolves seldom bark past the point of their playful puppy years. A wolf's eyes are usually a golden color and their coat color varies from black to grizzled grey to white. Wolves are also believed to possess greater endurance and higher stamina than dogs. The wolf has webbed feet to provide better traction on slippery surfaces. The alaskan husky, german shepherd and malamute dog breeds are more wolf like in appearance than other canine pure bred selections and are often the breed of choice when a wolf dog hybrid is bred domestically and a wolf like appearance is important in the resulting offspring.

Crossbreeding between dogs and wolves in the wild does occur occasionally. Wolves are seasonal breeders and breeding in the wild is most likely to occur when a roaming feral dog and a lone wolf of opposite sex meet during the wolf's breeding season. Interestingly, most wolfdog hybrid wolf dog mixes are larger than their parents. The genetic description of a hybrid wolf dog offspring is most commonly represented by a percentage representing the measure of the amount of wolf blood possessed by the hybrid. Whatever the percentage, the wolfdog is usually a very gorgeous animal, beautiful to behold. The hybrid wolf dog is often a regal, highly intelligent, captivating creature. Consequently, the wolfdog has steadily grown in popularity and the number of hybrids in the US is estimated to be somewhere around 300,000.