A viral Reddit post displaying a video asked viewers to identify a long-legged critter that was digging through some dirt.
Shared by u/Klausensen on the forum 'Oddly Terrifying,' the post received more than 22,000 votes. Viewers theorized that the creature recorded was a camel spider, but this has not been confirmed.
According to National Geographic, the camel spider was once known as a fast, large and venomous predator. However, that has since been disproven. It has also been made known that camel spiders, while arachnids, are not technically spiders. Instead, they are solpugids, an order of animals that also includes scorpions.
"Camel spiders are not deadly to humans (though their bite is painful), but they are vicious predators that can visit death upon insects, rodents, lizards and small birds," the piece published by National Geographic stated.
The video shows the critter in question quickly digging through a patch of dirt.
For a brief moment, it stops digging and looks around before the video ended.
"What the hell is that?" read the title of the post.
Viewers chimed in, many of them offering that it is a camel spider.
"I have seen footage of them 'chasing' people, but in reality they're chasing the shade," a commenter wrote.
Another noted that while the camel spider is not venomous, its bite is painful.
"Plus they look mean as f**k so I would be scared s**tless and panic if one of these bit me," they commented.
"They grow damn big," one remarked. "They move REALLY fast too. Apparently they're tame and don't bite. Pure nightmare fuel though."
Opined another commenter: "Low-key it's adorable in a horrible way."
Some viewers took the opportunity to joke about what was featured in the video.
One suggested it looked like something from the video game Elden Ring. Another quipped it was Holes character Stanley Yelnats digging for treasure.
"Me and the wife encountered something similar once," a viewer commented. "She called it 'runufreakingidiot' but I couldn't find anything on Google with that name so maybe she misidentified it."
Redditor u/Klausensen wrote to Newsweek and said their friend sent them the video.
"We do not know where it came from and we've never seen something like it before," they wrote. "It really scared the crap outta me. I mean look at it!"
As Newsweek previously reported, other clips have generated buzz for featuring seemingly frightening creatures, particularly spiders.
A viral video showed a large spider crawling inside a residence. Viewers offered their thoughts on what the specific species could possibly be, which included a Trinidad chevron tarantula and a huntsman spider.
One man explored the inside of a spider's nest, as seen in a viral TikTok video. He poked and prodded at the nest. Though smaller spiders are first seen, viewers get a glimpse of a much larger spider appearing for just a moment.
Another viral clip showed a woman's experience dealing with a large spider that was found in her kitchen.
Updated 05/09/2022, 2:48 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with comments from Redditor u/Klausensen.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Catherine Ferris is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting for the U.S. Trends Team. She ... Read more
