A scientist with a passion for peacock spiders – only a couple of millimetres long, extraordinarily colourful and “like dogs or cats” in their behaviour – has discovered seven new species.
Jürgen Otto, a biologist from Sydney, has been researching the arachnids since 2005, and has gained a significant following online with his footage.
He first came across one while walking in the Ku-ring-gai Chase national park, north of Sydney.
A paper Otto co-wrote about the discovery of seven new species from Western Australia and South Australia was published in the international jumping spider journal Peckhamia on Sunday.
He believes there are now 48 confirmed species of peacock spider within the Maratus genus, found across Australia but particularly in Western Australia – and many more awaiting confirmation.
The spiders are between three and five millimetres long and belong to the jumping spider family, which has tens of thousands of members. With their large eyes and almost mammalian characteristics, they look and behave differently to other spiders.
Their bright colours and patterns form a key part of courtship rituals, as with peacocks and birds-of-paradise.
“They behave very differently to how people think a spider does ... they behave more like cats and dogs, moving around, perceiving and reacting to their environment” Otto said.
Otto maintains a Facebook page dedicated to the colourful arachnid, which has more than 61,000 followers. He also posts videos to his YouTube channel; one video has 5.4m views. (The Guardian)
PHOTO ABOVE: Maratus tasmanicus, one of seven new species of peacock spiders studied by Sydney biologist Jürgen Otto.
CREDIT: Jürgen Otto.
PHOTO BELOW: Maratus vultus, one of the new species discovered by Jürgen Otto.
CREDIT: Jürgen Otto.