The peacock spider is one of the most unusual representatives of arachnids

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

People are used to the fact that spiders are vile and disgusting creatures. They see them as monsters that kill everyone in their path. However, the truth is that not all members of this family have a terrifying appearance. Moreover, there are even those who can please others with their cute coloring and funny character. And the best proof of this is the peacock spider (photos of the arthropod are presented below).

General information about the species

This type of spider lives exclusively in Australia. It was first studied by the English scholar and preacher Octavius Cambridge in 1874. Then the famous zoologist made a serious mistake by classifying the peacock spider as a flying insect-like. He even came up with the loud name S alticus Volans, where the first word is an indication of the gender, and the second is a marching from the Latin word for “fly.”

However, in 1991, the Polish zoologist Marek Zhabka thoroughly proved that the peacock spider cannot fly. Moreover, he does not even have wings, and heperforms thanks to muscular legs. Nevertheless, over the years, the volans prefix has taken root, and they did not want to change it. Only the word s alticus was turned into maratus, thereby classifying the species as a special group of jumping spiders.

Incredible beauty

The peacock spider has an extraordinary appearance. It cannot be confused with any other species. However, before proceeding to its description, it is necessary to mention one very important detail. Males of maratus volans look very different from females. Unlike the "gray" ladies, the gentlemen are painted in colorful rainbow colors.

The main advantage of males is the abdomen. It consists of solid plates engraved with an abstract design. Most often, it consists of circles and stripes of blue, placed on a yellow or orange background. In addition, green, red and purple shades can be found in the peacock spider palette.

Otherwise males and females are quite similar. So, these are small creatures, rarely growing more than 5 mm in length. The two rear pairs of legs are much larger than the front ones, since they are responsible for the high jumps of the insect. In addition, the peacock spider is covered from head to toe with light hair that sticks out in different directions like fluff.

Diet and hunting method

Maratus volans is a thoroughbred predator. Despite its tiny size, it rushes with the courage of a tiger at all insects that crawl near it. The main weapon of the spider is its jaws - they pierce chitin and inject poison into the body of the victim.

Muscular legs also help in hunting. Thanks to them, the predator can make lightning-fast jumps. They allow both to catch up with prey and to escape in case of danger. In addition, in the course of observations, naturalists learned that a peacock spider can even catch a flying target if it accidentally appears in its field of vision.

Purpose of colorful coloring

The fact that only males have a bright color already suggests its purpose. In fact, everything is simple - it is needed to attract the attention of females. This is a colorful outfit that should show the lady the superiority of her chosen one over others.

But the bright color is not the only trump card that the peacock spider has. The mating dance is what distinguishes this handsome man from the rest of the representatives of this family. Being near the female, the gentleman lifts the plates up, like a peacock's tail, and begins to shake them in time with the steps. From the outside, it looks like a groovy Mexican dance that continues until the lady recognizes the boyfriend.

True, it also happens that instead of mating, the male can expect an inglorious end. After all, the peacock spider is prone to cannibalism and easily eats representatives of its own species. Therefore, for a bad dancer, even a simple flirtation can be a deadly adventure.