Male peacock spiders display colorful backs, glittering blue scales and perform unique dances to attract females. (Photo: Jurgen Otto)
Name: Sparklemuffin Peacock Spider (Maratus jactatus).
Habitat: Wondul Ranges National Park, Queensland, Australia.
What it eats: Small insects and other arthropods.
Why it's amazing: These colorful creatures don't just dress up in bright colors to attract attention. Males also perform sexy dances to impress females.
At just 0.2 inches (2.5 cm) long, the peacock sparklemuffin spider is perhaps one of the most eye-catching spiders. These jumping spiders were described as a new species in 2015.
Females are a duller brownish-gray, but like their famous cousin, the peacock, male sparklemuffins are distinctive in their plumage. With their bright red and blue backs, they resemble peacock spiders (Maratus calcitrans) and peacock fingers (Maratus digitatus).
However, they have one feature that makes them unique: a small flap on the side of their abdomen that they can extend to reveal sparkling blue scales.
If their flashy plumage isn't impressive enough, the males can move, too. Their Latin name (jactatus) translates to “swaying” or “shaking” due to the rhythmic dance they perform for potential mates.
During courtship, males open their fan—a flap on their abdomen used for courtship—and tilt it to one side. At the same time, they lift a third leg on the same side, bringing it down gently and then up sharply, like someone teasing a dog by throwing a toy out of its reach. This jerking motion causes their entire body to sway, creating vibrations that the female can sense through the ground.
“When [the male] got within a few centimeters of the female, he started to show fireworks of activity,” entomologist Jurgen Otto, who wrote a paper on the species and runs the Peacock Spider website, previously told Live Science.
The species was discovered by a graduate student named Madeleine Girard, who nicknamed it “sparklemuffin.” At the same time, she discovered another species and named it “Skeletorus” because of its distinctive black and white markings, reminiscent of a skeleton Halloween costume.
Otto believes there are many more species of peacock spider. “Despite the large number of species that have been discovered in just the last few years, I can’t help but feel that we may have only just scratched the surface of this amazing group of spiders,” he said, “and that nature has many more surprises in store for us.”
TOPICS amazing animals
Melissa HobsonNavigate Social LinksLive Science Contributor
Melissa Hobson is a freelance writer specializing in marine science, conservation, and sustainability, and is particularly passionate about writing about the unusual behavior of marine creatures. Melissa has worked for several marine conservation organizations, where she has absorbed their knowledge and passion for protecting
Sourse: www.livescience.com
