Tailless Whipscorpion

Creepy looking Tailless Whipscorpions are not spiders, nor scorpions, and are in a family all their own.

Tailless Whipscorpions look like a mix of different arachnids, but they are unique. Long, skinny legs suggest the Whipscorpion is a type of spider, but it is not. Its first pair of legs end in antennae and they are whipped around and in front of the Tailless Whipscorpion as it moves, feeling for nearby prey. The large, menacing pedipalps that look like claws are reminiscent of a scorpion, but this creature has no tail nor stinger. The pedipalps are used to capture and crush prey as well as to aid in grooming. Though they have fangs, they cannot eat solids so they tear their prey into small pieces, sucking the fluids off of them.

Females carry their eggs for a short period of time under their belly. Once the eggs hatch, the young Tailless Whipscorpions ride on the mother's back for almost a week before venturing off on their own. Usually hidden all day in dark areas, adults emerge at dusk to begin hunting. If you expose one by lifting the stone it is hiding under, it will run sideways, like a crab, to escape and seek shelter elsewhere.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Chelicerata

Order: Amblypygi

Family: Phrynidae

Genus: Phyrnus

Species: spp.

Identifying Information

Scientific Name: Phyrnus spp.

Other Name(s): Tailless Whip Spider

Category: Tailless Whipscorpion

Size (Adult; Length): 10mm to 17mm (0.39in to 0.66in)

Colors: brown; black

Descriptors: claws, pinchers, pincers,

Territorial Map

Alaska

Hawaii

Prince Edward Is.

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Territorial Reach (A-to-Z)

Newfoundland and Labrador

Note: An insect's reach is not limited by lines drawn on a map and therefore species may appear in areas, regions and/or states beyond those listed above as they are driven by environmental factors (such as climate change), available food supplies and mating patterns. Grayed-out selections indicate that the subject in question has not been reported in that particular territory. U.S. states and Canadian provinces / territories are clickable to their respective bug listings.

Tailless Whipscorpion (Phyrnus spp.)

Creepy looking Tailless Whipscorpions are not spiders, nor scorpions, and are in a family all their own.