I can see where the confusion creeps in – Issue #88

Hello Explorer,
This weekend I encountered one of the most confusing, coolest, weirdest, and outright scariest creatures known to man, A Roman. No, not a roman soldier from Asterix and Obelix, but the spiderlike creature that instils all kinds of ungrounded fear and rumours of what it really is.
Have you ever heard someone tell you that a Roman (also known as a camel spider, Red-Roman, Sun-Spider, or wind scorpion) is a type of spider? Or that it is closer related to an ant than anything else? If you have, it is time, we explore these wonderful creatures of God’s creation, so that we can admire them for what they truly are!
So first and foremost, they are not spiders, they are not scorpions, and they are definitely not related to ants in any way. These are all myths or old wives’ tales, which I believe are founded on the fear for the unknown, and let’s face it, the creepy factor the Romans possess doesn’t help them at all.
So now that we know what Roman’s are not, what are they actually? They are Solifugids, from the order Solifugae, which is part of the class Arachnida. So, they are part of the larger group that includes spiders, scorpions, whip scorpions, micro-whip scorpions, mites, ticks, and vinegaroons. They are thus related to spiders and scorpions, but in the same way that wasps are related to beetles and cockroaches, very distantly.
What makes Solifugids unique from the rest of the Arachnida? Their most distinctive features of the Solifugae are their large chelicerae (mouth parts), which in most species are longer than the thorax. Each of the chelicerae has two parts, a top and bottom, which forms strong pinchers. Both the top and bottom segments have teeth like projections. The chelicerae are very strong in most species, enabling the Solifugid to sheer the hair or feathers off of vertebrate prey, and to cut right through skin and even small bones! Trust me getting bit by one of these is never a fun or forgettable experience.

Solifugids possess no venom and kill their prey by brute force, often starting to consume the prey while it is still alive. Solifugids have ten legs (five pairs of legs) and two of these legs have been adapted to act like antennae that it holds out in front of it while it is running.
Solifugids have very poor eyesight, relying on vibrations to find their way around the world and to capture food. Their setae or hair, which can clearly be seen if they stand still for a moment, is super sensitive, detecting even the slightest of vibrations. They can tell from which direction and approximately how far a vibration originated, and it has been speculated that if the vibration is caused by a known prey species it has previously encountered, it can even tell the species and get excited about the potential meal!
Another myth surrounding Solifugids is that they will chase you if you come near them, which many people has counteracted with a half-myth again, saying that they only want to be in your shadow and that is why they chase after you. Solifugids don’t chase you when they see you, they would rather run away, but when they feel the vibrations of your footsteps, they run towards you in the hope that they can capture whatever is making the vibrations. Once they realize you are in the predator size range and not in the food size range, they will do everything in their ability to get away as quickly as possible. Even though it might be half true that they are seeking your shadow to hide from the sun, it would not apply to all species, as many Solifugids are nocturnal (night active), which makes the use of shadow to hide from the heat of the sun quite irrelevant. I have tested the theory, whether if it is running towards your feet, it will just attack you or not. I am glad to say that they always just run directly over your foot, and if you start chasing it to get a photo or to capture it, it will run away with all its got, as the risk of being captured by a human (or massive predator in their eyes) is not worth it.
Have you heard the old wives’ tales around Solifugids? Can you recall a time that you encountered a Solifugid? Next time you encounter a Solifugid would you be able to admire its beauty and crazy strength? Even if only for a moment before you or it runs away?

If you would like to send me a message with your answers, feel free to do so on Instagram @abugmanslife or via email to [email protected].

Reference

[1] - Junnn11(Wikipedia) - Own work - Chewing movement of the chelicerae and propeltidium of a solifugid (Arthropoda: Chelicerata: Arachnida: Solifugae). - Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solifugae#/media/File:20220606_Solifugae_chelicerae_movement.gif