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This is an Australian Maratus "peacock" jumping spider. Nate Morehouse, a biologist at the University of Cincinnati, is studying tiny spiders no larger than a ladybug that have the rare ability to see color, including the bright and bold color patterns on the males' bodies. Morehouse is looking inside the many eyes of two groups of vividly colored spiders in the family Salticidae--better known as jumping spiders. Males in both groups are talented dancers that display fancy footwork and have bright physical displays of orange, pink, red and yellow. The peacock spiders are additionally equipped with an elaborately decorated abdomen flap that they raise up and down like a flag.
Image credit: Jurgen Otto
