Other Iraqi Camel Spider Urban Legends
One noted myth about the Iraqi camel spider is that it can run 25 miles an hour and is too fast for the human eye. This is completely false. Though they are fast, they only go about 10 miles an hour, slower than most humans can run.
Some other myths are that they can jump very high, eat camels, and lay their eggs in the camel that they jump on. None of these assertions are true, either. They are incapable of jumping, do not try to eat animals that are bigger than them, and they bury their eggs in the ground. Their diet consists mainly of other arthropods, although they will eat an occasional lizard. And the reason they are called camel spiders is because they live out in the desert, not because they jump on camels.
The camel spider, although gigantic by camel standards, can not grow as big as a dinner plate. They normally only grow to be about the size of a man's hand--about 6 inches. There is a picture that makes them appear to be about the size of a man's thigh that is the reason for much of the camel spiders popularity. This is a trick of perspective and you can see the guys hand up in the corner to get a better perspective on their size.
For More Information
Snopes has many of the myths broken down in a short list with an explanation of each myth. If you are interested in camel spiders, you can read their information for a little different spin on them.