Videos: Sanddunes

Learn more about this habitat.

Videos

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Solifugids

If you see one of these in your home, don't kill it...they are great predators of scorpions and spiders, including brown recluses. Let them roam the house!

Spider Joe Lapp, of Austin, Texas' cyber arachnologist says:
 
"These critters have some wonderful names: jerrymanders, jerrymunglums, and haircutters.

The pinchers are chelicerae. Spiders have chelicerae too - all arachnids do. Looking at the anatomy, they're basically shaped like giant spider chelicerae. Whereas spiders have a hinged fang below each chelicera, solifugids have a toothed lower jaw. However, both spiders and solifugids have teeth on the underside of the chelicerae; both chew by crunching prey into the cheliceral teeth. Spiders chew using their fangs as a lower jaw (though not all spiders chew their prey).

Those thick "legs" they hold in the air - the palps - are actually the arachnid equivalent of antennae. They are covered in sensory organs.

Solifugids are one of the dominant predators in arid ecosystems and are considered an indicator species for habitat health. Most species are extremely aggressive, with reports of some of the large species actually chasing people, though U.S. species are apparently on the tamer side."