Whip Spider

Amblypygi is an order of arachnids also known as whip-spiders or tailless whip-scorpions, a name referring to their lack of the tail flagellum seen in true whip-scorpions. They possess no silk glands or venom, and rarely bite if threatened, though they can grab fingers with their pedipalps and cause thorn-like puncture injuries. As of 2026 around 280 species across five families and 18 genera had been described, found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions where they stay hidden within leaf litter, caves or under bark; all known species are nocturnal, and some are subterranean. Fossilised amblypygids date back to the Carboniferous period.