A desert creature with a terrifying appearance (3 photos)

If, at night in the desert or steppe, a flashlight beam suddenly snatches a fast, strange creature with long legs and huge jaws from the darkness, your first instinct is to retreat. It looks too much like something out of old, scary legends.





This is a solpuga.

It can be found in hot steppes and desert regions—in the Caucasus, the Astrakhan region, and Crimea. Its body is relatively small—about seven centimeters. But with its long legs, it looks much more impressive and can reach about twelve centimeters.

The most noticeable feature of its appearance is its powerful jaws. They look as if they were built for a serious fight. Indeed, the solpuga is a true hunter. These jaws are capable of biting through skin and even damaging a fingernail. And its speed can sometimes reach approximately sixteen kilometers per hour. For this reason, it is often called the "wind scorpion."

The solpuga hunts at night.



In the dark, it becomes active and very agile. Its prey may include insects, scorpions, small rodents, and sometimes even small birds. Given the chance, it will not refuse carrion. For such a small creature, it has quite a substantial appetite.

It's no surprise that many horror stories have arisen around the solpuga. People say it deliberately stalks people and can even chase them across the sand.

But the truth is much simpler and more peaceful.

When a solpuga does chase a person, it's most often not chasing them, but their shadow. In the hot desert, any shade offers an opportunity to hide from the sun and cool off a bit. The animal is simply seeking shelter.

Despite its menacing appearance, the solpuga is not venomous. Its bite can be unpleasant and painful, but it poses no serious threat to humans. The only thing that really matters is to treat the wound to prevent infection.



Sometimes nature creates creatures that look much more terrifying than they actually are. The solpuga is one of those. Frightening in appearance, fast and predatory, it remains nothing more than a small nocturnal hunter simply trying to survive in the harsh desert world.