Wildly colored and patterned Australian peacock spiders are truly a sight to behold. German-born biologist Jürgen Otto and his American colleague David Hill have recently identified the latest seven species to be discovered, adding to the list of more than 40 others they have cataloged.
In addition to their spectacular coloring, the males are known for their crazy dancing courtship ritual. The arachnids are vivid, but tiny at just 3-5 mm in size, so these micro beauties would be easy to miss if it were not for the work of these two spider lovers.
This photo shows one of the most recently identified species of Australian peacock spider, the Maratus bubo.