This spider-like creature is not dangerous to humans \u2013 at least, if entomologist George McGavin\u2019s efforts to catch one in the darkness is anything to go by. \u201cOne\u2019s just crawled across my face,\u201d he declares.\u00a0<\/p>\n
These nocturnal, cave-dwelling animals are commonly known as whip spiders or tailless whip scorpions \u2013 but they\u2019re neither spiders nor scorpions.<\/p>\n
Even if they look like a spider with their eight spindly legs and a flattened body, they actually belong to the order Amblypygi, which is separate from Araneae.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whip spiders are found in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, mainly in warm and humid environments. A few differences set them apart from true spiders \u2013 firstly, they have no silk<\/a> or venom<\/a> fangs. Another is their large, spiny, raptorial pedipalps which they use to catch and hold prey, similar to how scorpions<\/a> use their pincers.<\/p>\n And lastly, the hard-to-miss modified front legs \u2013 elongated into whip-like sensory structures, which they use to feel around the environment. Their eyesight is relatively poor and they mostly hunt in darkness.<\/p>\n