Sometimes I become complacent and start to think nothing can amaze me anymore, until I stumble across images like those of the amazing tiny Peacock spider and some extremely good video footage showing the spider doing his "thing". What is his thing? Well it's a truly incredible display by male Peacock spiders designed to attract female Peacock spiders and lure them to mate. For the male, it's a ritual that's very dicey and if you watch the video to almost the finish you'll see why.
Two major things fascinate me about these spiders. First off, given they are found in my native country Australia and not in some remote (to me) wilderness, how is it this is the first time I've ever seen or heard of these colourful little guys? The answer is to be found in a couple of the related articles below. Secondly, how is it that the decor of their abdomen decorations bear striking resemblances to masks that could have been fashioned by some South American or African culture? (My second question is purely rhetorical, but the resemblance is weird nevertheless).
These images and the video footage are the work of "Peacockspiderman", aka Jurgen Otto. Jurgen's work can be found on FaceBook, YouTube, and a great collection of Peacock spider images on Piccsr.
Watch the video, and go cruise through Jurgens great images, you won't be disappointed I assure you.
