Newly Discovered Colorful Spiders Named Sparklemuffin and Skeletorus

Two new species of peacock spiders one of which does not look like anything scientists have seen before, has been discovered in Australia.

According to Christian Science Monitor, the two new species were discovered by graduate student at University of California Berkley, Madeline Girard and her friend in southern Australia. Madeline nicknamed one of them Sparklemuffin because it has colored strips on its abdomen while the other one has been called Skeletorus because of its white stripes markings against its dark exterior.

While Sparklemuffin, scientifically called Maratus Jactatus, has been sighted before, Skeletorus or Maratus Sceletus has never been seen. The spiders belong to the group of peacock spiders given the extensive antics they perform to attract a mate.

"When [the male] got within a few centimeters of the female, he exploded into a firework of activity. The spinnerets were extended and flicked around at an amazing speed, one of the legs was flexed like he wanted to show off his muscles, and he moved constantly from one side of the grass blade to the other," entomologist Jürgen Otto, who co-authored the paper, was quoted by Discovery News.

About Skeletorus, Otto said that it is not like any other spider seen before. "Despite the large number of species we have discovered just in the last few years, I can't help feeling that we may have just scratched the surface of this most exciting group of spiders, and that nature has quite a few more surprises in store," Otto said.

The research has been published in the journal Peckhamia.