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Australian Peacock Spider — printable fact sheet
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Australian Peacock Spider
Maratus volans
Peacock spiders are jumping spiders about 4 to 5 mm long — small enough to sit comfortably on a fingernail — that perform one of the most elaborate courtship displays of any animal. The male raises a flap on his abdomen like a fan and vibrates his legs and body while shuffling s…
Did you know?
- The intricate dances of male peacock spiders are so complex that some scientists have compared them to bird-of-paradise displays.
- Many peacock spider species were discovered and named by Jurgen Otto, a mite biologist who found them as a hobby and whose videos turned an obscure genus into an internet phenomenon. Their vision is exceptional: jumping spiders have a retina they can move behind a fixed lens, giving them acuity comparable to a small mammal in an animal with a brain the size of a poppy seed. Species names in the genus now include maratus sceletus, the skeleton spider, and one named after Nemo.
What I learned
Draw the australian peacock spider
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