New Peacock Spider Video!

The cinematographer extraordinaire of tiny dancing spiders, Jurgen Otto, has posted a new peacock spider video!  Remember, these adorable little spiders are usually less than 6mm in size.

I was going to write a post for you about peacock spiders, but it turns out that GrrlScientist already did that–so why not cruise over there and read her full story?

One of the most common phobias in the world is arachnophobia, the irrational fear of spiders. But there is one sort of spider out there that is so cute that even arachnophobes may like them.

I am talking about those diminutive jumping spiders (Family: Salticidae). Not only are these spiders very small, but they are generally colourful and they have keen eyesight — essential for stalking and quickly jumping upon their prey since they do not spin webs to ensnare insects…

But to my eyes, the most remarkable of all jumping spiders are those in the genus Maratus. Although only eight species have been formally described so far, at least 20 species are known, and all of them are found only in Australia.