Thursday, February 24, 2011

'Greight' eyes

It doesn't matter how many of these little guys we encounter, they always captivate us. This is Mopsus mormon, the Green Jumping Spider. It is one of Australia's largest jumping spiders, growing to around 16mm in body length. Like most jumping spiders, this species is energetic, charismatic and very inquisitive. They are continually surveying their surroundings and to watch them stalk their prey is a real treat.

With eight eyes in total, and an enormous forward facing pair, they are amongst the best in game when it comes to spider vision. They use cat-like stealth to approach prey, and then leap on it with incredible pace and accuracy. They are venomous and instantly impale their victim with their fangs in order to subdue it. Green Jumping Spiders are renowned for bringing down prey much larger than themselves, usually insects or other spiders. 


Mopsus mormon, the Green Jumping Spider

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