11 October 2026
The Sparklemuffin: a dancer the size of a grain of rice
The Sparklemuffin, Maratus jactatus, is a peacock spider from southern Queensland in Australia. It was described in 2015 by Otto and Hill, and it measures only about four to five millimetres.
The male performs a courtship dance: he raises his third pair of legs like pom-poms, vibrates his body and flashes a hidden, colourful flap on his abdomen. The Latin name jactatus means rocking, after this dance. If the female is not impressed, she may attack him.
It is harmless to people. In the book it carries the epithet The Neon Dancer, and is shown five times its true size under the loupe.