January 12, 2010

Just What I Need

My love for spiders is quite. . . infinite.

So you can imagine then with just what exhilaration I read this Tuesday morning that a new spider species was discovered in the Middle East.
Just what I need! Another spider in the vast spider array of this region. We’ve got plenty creepy crawling wildlife in Lebanon as it is (hat tip to Kheireddine for this excellent web site on Lebanon's wildlife, plants and habitats). And what about these nasty suckers in Iraq? Camel spiders, they call them.

But no, not enough. We need to discover even more. And not only that. No, it’s the biggest one in the Middle East! It’s got a leg span of some 15 centimeters (5.5 inches).
And what’s more, the thing is right near us, lurking around in the dunes of our southern neighbors (A team of scientists discovered the spider in the dune of the Sands of Samar in the southern Arava region). With their track record, this thing is bound to invade us any time soon.

Luckily, they are on the verge of extinction.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Dutch link
English link

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

How much you nag! I really feel sorry for your husband!

Angie Nader said...

i get freaked out by little spiders.
and those camel spiders...well, im glad i never seen one in real life.

paragonid said...

The first phrase is amazing (: