Vinegaroons

[Johnny L.A.]

When I was a kid, I found a creature in my dad's house. It was flesh-coloured and looked like a spider. It was about two inches long. I was told it was a "vinegaroon", but a quick search on the 'net showed a "whip scorpion" that didn't look like what I saw (i.e., no "whip" and no claws that I remember on the thing I saw. Also, the colour was different).

Any idea what I may have seen? This was in Dagget, CA, in the Mojave Desert.

Also, the folklore I heard said that a vinegaroon bite will make the victim taste vinegar, but they're not dangerous. I thought I heard that they emit a vinegar smell. What's the Straight Dope about vinegaroons?

[Olentzero]

Well, according to my quick search, this (http://www.zoomwhales.com/subjects/arachnids/whipscorpion/Vinegarroon.shtml) is some quick SD on vinegarroons. Looks like the little spidery doodad you found was misidentified. Being totally unfamiliar with the fauna of the Southwest US, I can't help you much there.

[tomndebb]

While there is only one true vinegaroon in the U.S., several of the whip scorpions an wind scorpions are tailless and may have picked up the vinegaroon name by association (i.e., anything scorpion-like that can't sting gets called vinegaroon). This is, admittedly, a WAG.

[bibliophage]

There are links to pictures of wind-scorpions and whip-scorpions here (http://www.ufsia.ac.be/Arachnology/Pages/A_pictur.html). You might check out Solifugae (http://www.ufsia.ac.be/Arachnology/Pages/Solifugae.html) first.

[junebeetle]

I grew up in the Mojave desert and I often made acquaintance with such a creature. Check out Sun Spiders (http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/PUBS/INSECT/05589.html)

- JB

[Johnny L.A.]

Thanx for the links! This one http://wrbu.si.edu/www/stockwell/photos/solpugid3.jpg looks like the one I saw when I was a kid.