In the arid regions of our planet, you can meet amazing creatures of a large detachment of arachnids. Zoological science calls them saltpugs. Now in wildlife there are more than 1,000 species of the closest relatives of spiders, settled on almost all continents. Not only in Antarctica and Australia. We will get to know these creatures better and also present beautiful photos of unusual types of salpugs.
1
Under different names
Photo by: Chantelle Bosch / wikipedia.org
Translated from Latin, the name of the order Solifugae means "fleeing from the sun." Two more names are common in the world - phalanx and bihorch.
In the arid regions of southern Africa, they are called "hairdressers" or "barbers." This is because local tribes have the opinion that arthropods cut human hair and animal hair in order to equip their nest.
In Asia they are called camel spiders, but in Europe you can hear the names “windy scorpion”, or “sun spider”. Residents of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan call them alli hussola, which means a bull’s head.
2
Body structure
Phalanges are rather large arthropods. For example, adults of the Central Asian saltpug grow up to 7 cm in length. The remaining species, an average of 4 to 5 cm.
Their entire body is covered with small hairs, and the color depends on the habitat. Basically, it is sandy yellow, brown and even whitish. The body is divided into three parts. The head is rather large, convex. The chest is segmented, divided into three equal parts. But the oblong abdomen has 9–10 segments. Everyone has a pretty awesome look.
Ahead are pedipalps resembling limbs. At the end are powerful claws covered with a powerful shield. Among the arachnids, the salpugs have the most powerful cheliceurs, able to bite a victim in half. Three pairs of limbs are attached to the head section, and the rest to the thoracic segments. The hind limbs of the salpug are significantly longer than the rest.
Do not miss on our site most-beauty.ru fascinating material about the TOP 20 most beautiful spiders in the world.
3
Habits and lifestyle
Unlike other arachnids, these are motile creatures. Fast predators, capable of speeds up to 2 km per hour, hunt at night. But there are day hunters. Their victims are ants, termites, beetle species, related arthropods. Powerful tentacles allow you to cope with lizards.
They can track down their prey, chasing it, and then suddenly attacking from behind. Learned to hunt from an ambush. Bee hives, termite mounds easily gnaw through. The victim is tracked by the organs of touch, using the eyes, and also feel the vibration of the soil.
The lifestyle and behavior of the phalanges combine the features of primitive creatures with signs of high organization. Feeling danger, they throw the back of the body over the head, and begin to squeak loudly. This scaring sound is created by rubbing the chelicera against each other. At the same time jump and spin in place. To hide from enemies, the salpugs tear deep holes, and the entrances are covered with foliage.
4
Bites
The appearance of the salpug is really menacing. There is a myth that they are poisonous and can cause human death. But this is not so. The bite is really painful, but does not pose a danger to humans. They have neither poisonous glands nor deadly poison. Some species bite through human skin easily.
The only thing that needs to be done after a bite is to treat the wound so that there is no infection. In chelicera, rotting food debris that can cause inflammation is stored. And so, this is a completely harmless creature.
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru you can find a list of the most poisonous spiders on our planet.
5
Breeding
The mating season for different types of phalanges depends on the area of settlement. Mating usually occurs at night. The female attracts males with a special smell.
The male secretes spermatophores, and with the help of the chelicera transfers them into the genital opening of female individuals. The whole process takes from 2 to 4 minutes.
After mating, the male quickly runs away so that the female does not satisfy her hunger. In the body of the female, the development and formation of fertilized appendages occurs. During this period, she eats a lot, and after a while lays eggs in a previously prepared depression in the soil.
Photos and names of species
And now in more detail we will talk about the types of salpugs that live in different parts of the world.
Common / Galeodes araneoides
This species, common in Russia and the countries of Central Asia, is also called the South Russian saltpug. In addition to the south of Russia, they are found in the steppes of Ukraine, Kazakhstan. The range of settlement stretched from Egypt to Afghanistan.
Adult males reach 6 cm. Females are smaller - not more than 4.5 cm. This species has a sand-yellow body color, and on the back you can notice small dark spots.
Zoologists believe that the typical location is located within the modern Volgograd region. This species was first described by Russian zoologist Peter Pallas. In 1772, he introduced the inhabitants of the southern steppes, deserts and semi-deserts into the scientific classification.
Arab Salpuga / Galeodes arabicus
The area of resettlement of the phalanx, which is formidable in appearance, is limited to the countries of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The “Arabian” predator feeds on small insects and other arthropods.
They grow to 5 cm. The whole body and limbs are covered with long hairs. They lead a nocturnal lifestyle, and during the day they hide from the sun and enemies under stones, in burrows, crevices.
Not poisonous, and therefore often end up in home terrariums. At home, they are quite voracious, but it is better not to overfeed.
Smoky / Galeodes fumigatus
The inhabitant of the desert regions of Turkmenistan has a dark brown color. There are completely black individuals. This kind, of course, can scare.
They grow up to 7 cm in length, and therefore are considered one of the largest representatives of the genus Galeodes. They track down their victims at night, during the day they hide in burrows. Some individuals use the same hole, but most find a new refuge every day.
Quickly move with walking legs. To this ability we add that they easily overcome obstacles with a vertical surface.
Trans-Caspian saltpug / Galeodes caspius
This species is also known under the name Camel Spider. This name was assigned to the inhabitants of the steppes of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, but in reality it is not a spider at all.
It looks very menacing, but for a person it is not dangerous, since it is not poisonous.
It may hurt to bite. The view is quite aggressive. It can even attack dangerous scorpions. A giant salpuga growing up to 7 cm can easily cope with a poisonous creature.
The color of the head and chest is brown with a slightly reddish tint. But their abdomen is grayish with dark transverse stripes.
Crimean saltpug
Among the diversity of the world of Crimea spiders in the piedmont arid regions of the southern part of the peninsula, you can meet beautiful phalanges. Unlike tarantulas and karakurt, they are non-toxic.
They reach a length of 5 to 6 cm. The color is light. They are active in the dark, hunting insects, small lizards, scorpions.
This species has a complex structure of the organs of vision that provide them with a good reaction. They not only see the victim, but also feel its approach by vibration of the soil. It is noteworthy, but they are practically not afraid of man and can easily join the night halt by the campfire.
Ammotrechidae
We conclude with a huge family of more than 80 species. Representatives of the family are found in the arid places of North and Latin America. One fossil species, Happlodontus proterus, is found in Dominican amber in Haiti.
All 80 species are united by zoologists in 20 genera. Nocturnal predators easily cope with termites, large insects, small reptiles.
Almost all species were discovered in the twentieth century. Most species live in Venezuela and Chile. The image of the salpug is found in the drawings of the Incas, the Mayan tribe.
Who is stronger: salpuga or scorpion?
Interesting Facts
Marshal Hedin from San Diego [CC BY-SA]
We conclude our most-beauty story about saltpugs with interesting facts about these amazing arachnids.
- It is known that the specific name of the salpug is “escaping the sun”, but in Spain they are called “sun spiders”. The Central Asian sun-loving saltpug Raga galeodes heliophilus also runs in the afternoon on the steppe.
- If the salpuga is provided with a sufficient amount of food that does not need to be hunted, it will eat until the belly bursts.
- Pretty brave inhabitants of the planet. Without fear, it attacks animals that are many times larger than its size.
- In the southern regions of Russia there are about 50 species. Many of them are listed in the Red Book.
- On the YouTube network, you can find videos where the salpuga fights against the tarantula, fights with scolopendras and other poisonous creatures.
- They run fast, breaking 52 cm in 1 second. They can also jump up to a meter in length, and some can jump up to 3 meters in height.
- In 1913, the oldest fossil species Protosolpuga carbonaria Petrunkevitch was discovered in the United States. Found it in the deposits of the Carboniferous period. Thus, the first phalanges appeared on earth 340-300 million years ago.
- Solpuga is rarely found in the mythology of peoples, but on a series of animal brands of Kazakhstan there is a drawing of this amazing inhabitant of the steppes.
Output
Many species are listed in the Red Book, having received the status of endangered species. As we learned, this is a safe predator. But the salpugi, like all spiders, cause genuine fear among the majority of the inhabitants of the earth, because of which arachnophobia is the most common of all phobias.
The editors of most-beauty.ru asks you not to stand aside, but to add your opinion about the salpugs in the comments to this article, and it is possible to share personal experience of meetings with these amazing animals.