Florida whip spider
The Florida whip spider is a flat, strange looking creature with super long, thin front legs. It is not a real spider and not a scorpion either. It uses those long legs like feelers to find its way in the dark.
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Fun facts
Its body is less than 2 centimetres long, but its front legs can reach 10 centimetres.
It walks on six legs and scuttles sideways like a crab.
It has eight eyes: two at the front and three on each side.
The mother carries her babies on her back for about ten days.
It takes about two years to grow up and then lives another two or three years.
Most asked questions about Florida whip spider
?Is the Florida whip spider dangerous?
No. It has no venom and is harmless to people.
?Is a whip spider a spider?
No. It is a relative of spiders, but it belongs to its own group of animals.
?What does the Florida whip spider eat?
It hunts small animals at night.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Phrynus marginemaculatus
- Group
- Scorpions, ticks and friends
- Family
- Phrynidae
- Classification
- Arachnida > Amblypygi > Phrynidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Spotted tailless whip scorpion
Where the facts come from
- Phrynus marginemaculatus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Nick Tobler (Cowturtle). CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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