Peekaboo Spider

Peekaboo Spider 

Australia is infamous for its wide diversity of venomous creatures, ranging from the smallest arachnid to the deadliest snake. However, there is one spider that may be cuter than all the rest.

First discovered in 2014, Jotus remus doesn’t boast a colorful design or a startling appearance. Instead, the male’s remarkable feature is the unique way in which it attracts a mate. The two front pairs of legs on this tiny jumping spider are normal enough. But the third leg on each side of its body is longer and topped with a heart-shaped paddle.

While hiding underneath a leaf, the male will raise these paddles and wave them around like an enthusiastic cheerleader to attract the attention of a female. Sometimes, the male waves his paddles for hours. If luck is on his side, the female gives chase. Then, after what seems like a game of cat and mouse, the two finally mate.

Throughout the arachnid world, courtship is famously known to be a dangerous business. If the male isn’t careful, his potential partner will turn him into a tasty meal. So male spiders like Jotus remus have developed interesting dances to convince females to give them a chance and, with any luck, not slaughter them for dinner.

      

Undersea Crop Circles

Undersea Crop Circles

They’ve been called the crop circles of the ocean floor—seven-foot diameter patterned circles that were first spotted in 1995 off the coast of southern Japan.

 The mystery persisted until 2011 when the culprit, a male pufferfish just five inches long, was finally caught in the act. And recently scientists studied the process of how the species creates these elaborate designs in order to woo females.

The photo above shows the artist: the puffer fish. In Japan, these fish are considered a delicacy, despite the fact they can be poisonous. This fish even takes small shells, cracks them, and lines the inner grooves of his sculpture as if decorating his piece. Apparently female puffer fish are attracted by the grooves and ridges. They mate and lay eggs in the center of these undersea circles.

     

 

Goliath Bird Eating Spider

Goliath Bird Eating Spider

I've opted to put this monstrous creature for one simple reason: it terrifies me. The species was officially discovered in 2006 during an exoedition to Guyana. Found in northern South America, it is the largest spider in the world. 

Unlike other species of spider/tarantula, females do not eat the males during mating. Females mature in 3 to 6 years and have an average life span of 15 to 25 years. Males die soon after maturity and have a lifespan of 3 to 6 years. Colors range from dark to light brown with faint markings on the legs. Birdeaters have hair on their bodies, abdomens, and legs. The female lays anywhere from 100 to 200 eggs, which hatch into spiderlings within two months.

These spiders can have a leg span of up to 28 cm (11 in), a body length of up to 11.9 cm (4.7 in) and can weigh up to 175 g (6.2 oz).Birdeaters are one of the few tarantula species that lack tibial spurs, located on the first pair of legs of most adult males.

It is a burrowing spider, feeding primarily on invertebrates, though it has also been observed eating small mammals, lizards, and venomous snakes. 

Like all tarantulas, T. blondi have fangs large enough to break the skin of a human (1.9–3.8 cm or 0.75–1.50 in). They carry venom in their fangs and have been known to bite when threatened, but the venom is relatively harmless and its effects are comparable to those of a wasp's sting. Tarantulas generally bite humans only in self-defense, and these bites do not always result in envenomation (known as a "dry bite").