Peacock Spiders Revisited

For something more cheerful, here’s a return of the Peacock Spider. Apparently seven new species of peacock spider have been discovered in Australia. The discovery was reported in the journal Peckhamia–a journal devoted to the biology of jumping spiders. Clearly a sign of the growing overproliferation of specialty journal, but in this case we can’t complain too much.

The Peckham society is a treasure trove of fascinating and diverse spider behavior, such as this one feasting on a fellow spider. Not the same species, so it doesn’t count as cannibalism (unless you’re a cannibal for eating a cow.)

And for the truly insatiable spider enthusiast, check out the Peckham’s video collection. To think that all this variety represents one small branch of the arachnid tree–It’s enough to give some hope for Earth’s biological world.