Hello folks- thought I'd share some more interesting info with you today. As I was clearing out our bodega yesterday, I found this 'adorable' bug under my luggage. We call them 'cave dwellers' here....but that was not enough for me- I wanted to learn more.

After some digging (on the web- gotta love wikipedia and the site 'whats that bug'), I found what I was looking for. My little friend is a Tailless Whip Scorpion, or to be more specific:

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Amblypygi

Amblypygids are also known as tailless whip scorpions (see also whip scorpion). The name "amblypygid" means "blunt rump", a reference to a lack of the telson ("tail") carried by related species.

As of 2002, approximately 5 families, 17 genera and 136 species have been described. They are found in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Some species are subterranean; many are nocturnal. During the day, they may hide under logs, bark, stones, or leaves. They prefer a humid environment.

Fun Facts:

* A tailless whip scorpion makes an appearance in the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, as the Death Eater, Barty Crouch Jr, while impersonating Mad-Eye Moody, uses in a demonstration of the Unforgivable Curses (whereas in the book he uses a spider).
* A tailless whip scorpion was also the organism consumed on the 10/19/2005 episode of Fear Factor and referred to on the program as an African cave-dwelling spider.


I had heard that our 'cave dwellers' were harmless, but I feel much more confident now knowing that he will not attack me! I will leave him in the bodega to feed on our other strange, and still unidentified, bugs.