# What kind of gigantic spider is in this picture? \[WARNING: Picture of gigantic spider.\]

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 24, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090 "2009-07-24T05:52:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Xploder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a183cd/32.png) [@Xploder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xploder)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-gigantic-spider-is-in-this-picture-warning-picture-of-gigantic-spider/504090/61 "2009-07-28T00:03:25Z")

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> [@arachnologus](#):
>
> There’s an interesting story behind the second photo (the one with the sergeant’s sleeve in the foreground) on the page Xploder cites here (I’ve simplified his URL a bit). It started out as part of an infamous hoax email that started turning up just after April Fools Day, 2004. See [my page here](http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/camelspider2.html) on this and other “camel spider” hoaxes. A soldier who knows the sergeant in the picture later corresponded with me and pointed out that comparison with standard insignia on the sleeve showed the bodies to be about 4 cm long, not 40 cm as a casual glance might suggest.
> 
> The 6th photo on the page is actually stolen from one of my pages. It was taken in Oregon. Solpugids are by no means limited to Iraq!
> 
> MoodIndigo’s nephew’s photo, on the other hand, is a true spider, not a solpugid (“camel spider.”) Looks like it’s in the huntsman spider family, but I’ve never seen one so pale before - probably an inhabitant of white dunes. Cool!

I appreciate the link fix AND my ignorance fought! Regardless, the things we had running around when I was there were larger than that. All I know is that when a giant spider runs at ME, I’m gonna take action and make sure it don’t run at anyone else. 😃

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