Sparklemuffin
The sparklemuffin is a tiny peacock spider from Australia, about as long as a grain of rice. The male has a shiny blue flap on his back with bright orange-red stripes. He lifts it up like a fan and dances to show off to a female.
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Fun facts
It can jump up to 50 times its own length.
The female is plain brown so she can hide, while the male is colourful.
The male rocks from side to side during his dance. That is where its scientific name comes from.
The female makes her nest under the ground and stays there to guard her eggs.
It has only been found in one national park in Queensland.
Most asked questions about Sparklemuffin
?Why is the sparklemuffin so colourful?
The male uses his shiny blue and orange flap to dance and impress a female.
?Where does the sparklemuffin live?
It has only been found in Wondul Range National Park in southern Queensland, Australia.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Maratus jactatus
- Group
- Spiders
- Family
- Salticidae
- Classification
- Arachnida > Araneae > Salticidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Maratus jactatus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Tim Rudman. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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