What if there were a spider that looked like a sparkle muffin peacock?
What: The sparkle muffin peacock spider is a spider in the genus Maratus, or peacock spider.
Who: The first sparkle muffin peacock spider was discovered and described by biologist, Madeline Girard discovered the sparkle muffin while searching for other peacock spiders.
Where: Sparkle muffin peacock spiders live and dance in Australia.
When: Madeline Girard discovered her first sparkle muffin peacock spider in 2014.
How: Do the sparkle muffin peacock spiders dance? Sparkle muffins are a part of the Salticidae family of jumping spiders, but their dances are more than simply jumping around; they also wave their legs in the air and make other smooth dance moves!
Check out some peacock spider dance moves in the this video!
Why: Why are the sparkle muffin peacock spiders colored so extravagantly? To attract a mate!
Huh?: If the male sparkle muffin peacock spider's dance does not impress a female sparkle muffin peacock spider, she will often eat him!
Wow!: Sparkle muffins aren't the only curiously named peacock spider: there's the burnt-orange peacock spider, kitty-cat peacock spider, eagle peacock spider, and skeletorus peacock spider.
Still curious about the sparkle muffin peacock spider? Let your curiosity lead your learning about spiders that sparkle and many other animals and how they got their crazy names in The Screaming Hairy Armadillo and its free Educator's Guide!
