Peacock spider shakes it for the ladies

Male peacock spiders are fuzzy, strangely adorable, and boast a brilliantly colored abdomen that they flip up and use as a prop for an elaborate (for a spider) mating dance.

In this video, the mating dance of the peacock spider has been helpfully set to music, so you can really see why his abdomen makes female spiders wanna shoop.

This particular specimen is apparently a representative of an as-yet-unnamed species of peacock spider. You can read more about this species, and what makes it different from its cousins, in this paper by Jürgen C. Otto and David E. Hill, who also made the video.

Via Bug Girl

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

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MORE: adorable • bugs • Delightful Creatures • Science • Sex

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The Snowden Principle

awjt

Super hawt, srsly.
http://ae4rv.com/ royaltrux

Adorable.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Maj-Variola/100003091129531 Maj Variola

Someone please add some cool sunglasses to a dancer… with 4 lenses..
bobcorrigan

For some reason I’ve got “What is Love?” in mind as an alternative soundtrack.
http://2012diaries.blogspot.com/ tristan eldritch

Talk about flying the freak flag high.
Boundegar

At 1:08 the spider seems to simply vanish. Is this a jumping spider, or does he have powers of invisibility?
- ocker3
  
  Jumping spider, they move Fast!
mappo

This is the Maggie version of a unicorn chaser, isn’t it?
- http://maggiekb.com/ Maggie Koerth-Baker
  
  Yes.
  - ocker3
    
    Thank you, thank you So much! *hug*
http://twitter.com/mgmars Michael Mars

This is one of those videos where my immediate reaction upon viewing is to plan how my D&D group will fight a giant psionic version of this creature in their next adventure.
- psulli
  
  +1 to booty shaking; Can Vogue! three time per round.
matt H

In other news, sleazy dude with huge mustache harasses women in a bar.
Timmy Corkery

As if spiders didn’t already freak me out, these f#ckers have eyes in the back of their heads. Admittedly less freaky are their cute little mittens, but still.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/6CWG4MGNQFRSZI5NGY3PBOO3X4 Alexandros
  
  Mittens?
  Oh, you mean its mandibles?
  - KBert
    
    Pom-poms.
John Weitzmann

w/o any in-depth knowledge of spiders I am pretty certain that this is not only a mating display but also something to scare away predators – because that abdomen looks exactly like the head of a praying mantis / a dragonfly.
- vonbobo
  
  I agree. However, appearing as a predator to a potential mate could be trouble too. Perhaps the sudden flash of a predator stuns the mate into a “remain still” mode, making the mate less reliant upon consent?
Wreckrob8

Adorably squishy.
PhosPhorious

Where to you tuck the dollar bills? Purely as a matter of anatomical interest, of course. . . .
srallen

I’ll just leave this here.
- Brainspore
  
  It’s like a contemporary male version of the “Arachne” myth.
- Lyn Hilliard
  
  That’s perfect… brilliant catch! It is imperative that this spider be named Maratus Funkadelic.
http://thisisonlya.blogspot.com robcat2075

I hope this isn’t one of those situations where the male gets eaten when it’s over.
- Wreckrob8
  
  Why? To be fair some female spiders get eaten by their young as they hatch. Hopefully the males die happy.
- Brainspore
  
  I used to feel bad for all the species that kick the bucket after mating, but on balance ”dying in a moment of post-coital bliss” is probably the best way to go that any creature could hope for.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Walter-Amos/691460257 Walter Amos

All praise to the Hypno-Spider!
confu

As I learned from the paper this species still lacks a name.
Instead of Maratus species A I would propose Maratus Travolta aka the Saturday Night Spider.
Maria Pranzo

Bow chicka bow boooow….bow chicka bow boooow…
http://halfbakedmaker.org Robert Baruch

So raise your fifth and sixth arms in the air!
And wave your colored abdominal flap like you just don’t care!
And if you believe you’re not gonna be eaten by your mate,
scream it out and say Oh Yeah!
snagglepuss

I like the upraised arms – Made me think, “GOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL !!!!!!”

Because, after all…Every horny spider needs a goal, right ?
humanresource

Still a better love story than Twilight.
http://www.facebook.com/arnaud.clermonte Arnaud Clermonte

He’s doing the eye of Sauron!