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RE: A zoologist's top five bug encounters: from South America to Africa

in #biology7 years ago (edited)

Red Roman small.png
(https://www.northwestnewspapers.co.za/herald/home/series/spiders/797-die-rooi-roman)

Is this by any chance one of your photos too?

One of these once appeared where I was busy nestling down for a comfortable sleep on the sand inside my tent Grootfontein, Namibia. I cannot forgive myself for the way in which my then youthful xenophobia drove me to dispose of this innocent creature..

Could you tell us more about it please @holothewise?

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That fellow is a solifuge, another primitive arachnid. You actually get some super pretty ones (the diurnal species tend to be more colourful). They're completely harmless, just hellishly fast :). The day active species usually go for shadows which is why they sometimes seem to be chasing people when they're actually just looking for shade.