What does the Tail-less Whip Scorpion look like?
These strange and weird looking creatures look like a cross between a spider, scorpion and crab. They belong to an order of arachnids called the Amblypygi (Pronounced: am-bli-pie-gee), which is grouped alongside the True spiders (Araneae) and the Whip Scorpions (Uropygi). Amblypygids look similar to many spider species, but possess very long modified front legs (often up to 4x the length of the body) that act as feelers to detect vibrations, prey items, obstacles etc. They also have large raptorial pedipalps (these are the things that look like large claws) to capture and hold prey items, males being longer then the females. They do not spin silk and rely on active hunting using their huge claws in order to capture prey. They tend to reach around 50- 70mm (2- 3″) in body size and are of a mottled brown/black/cream colouration.
