Friday, September 26, 2008

A Jumping Spider

.....named Groucho

All I can say about this one is that it is a Jumping Spider of the family Salticidae, and that it certainly lives up to it's reputation. With a total body length of only around 5mm-6mm it managed an amazing jump of about 40mm - 50mm in an effort to escape my camera. It succeeded too. It landed down a deep crevice in a tree stump where I could no longer see it.

In the absence of a more precise name I've decided to call him Groucho. If you can't see any resemblance then you may need to compare photos #3, #4 and #5 :-)


(Click Photos to Enlarge)

Small Jumping Spider


Small Jumping Spider


Do you see the Groucho resemblance?


For those with no imagination :-)


... and of course the real Groucho Marx


5 comments:

Junior Lepid said...

LOL - I hope you lit that cigar for him, Mosura!

Brilliant shots of this particular Salticid. They are camera-shy and you've done well with these!

Jenny said...

Wonderful spider and great shots as usual. Has it lost a back leg (in the first photo)?

Tyto Tony said...

Me too LOL. Tho pic 2's jester is Danny Kaye-ish.
Imagine too: Harpo with eight limbs plucking or Chico's keyboarding.
But spiders suck food: very Gummo. Nothing worth saying on Zeppo - ever!

Mosura said...

Thanks JL, Jenny, and Tony - Glad you have a sense of humour.

Yes Jenny - I was pulling his leg about looking like Groucho and that's what happened ;-) Actually to be honest I hadn't even noticed that until you mentioned it. Imagine how far it could jump with the full compliment :-)

Duncan said...

Very tricky Alan, nice one. Great little spiders.