The spider that invented the wheel
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Uploaded by ikemen on Oct 14, 2008
The Golden Wheel Spider (Carparachne aureoflava) is truly a unique and amazing creature of the beautiful Namib Desert. It builds burrows that extend 40-50cm deep into the sand dunes. The burrow generally gives it sufficient shelter from its predators and especially its archenemy: Pompilid wasps. However, sometimes their burrow collapses and they have to build a new one, which can take a few days. The new burrows are initially not very deep and this is the time for the wasp to attack. They go into the burrow to inspect the size of the spider. The spider can fight them off in the burrow but then the wasp begins to dig a hole towards the end of the burrow. The wasp is able to shift 10 litres of sand or up to 80,000 times its own body weight during this process. The spider, now exposed to the wasp, has two alternatives. If it is on a steep sand dune, it makes itself into a ball and rolls down the slope with a speed of 1 m/s and about 20 rotations per second. The wasp is unable to follow the spider and the spider survives. The other option is running. However, the wasp can fly after the spider, sting it, paralyze it and then plants an egg inside the spider. The wasp then proceeds to carry the spider into a hole, which it seals off. Now the newly hatched wasp has a lot of food when it wakes up. The wheel spider is the only known animal to use a wheeling motion to move and can be found exclusively in the Namib Desert.
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Absolutely Wild Visuals.
240p.
Okay then.....
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that spider must have the worst..headache..ever.
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mocroonie88 had a lack of inspiration..
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2 top comments ---> the same thing
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WTF....cool..
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Wild 240p ...
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2 words bad ass
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Stomp...that...fucker. It was pretty badass how it rolled though..
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"robots in disguise", Wheel transforms into spider and likewise, They need something like this in those movies
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@Lavos2007 Thank god, it makes me happy to know spiders suffer.
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The wasps see me rollin'... They hatin'
VafleTheMan 10 months ago 25
DO A BARREL ROLL!!!
gruntsquad121 1 year ago 8