New spider species gets fashion designer’s name

This October 2015 video says about itself:

Jotus remus, an Australian species of spider I discovered on 30 December 2014 when I came home from a camping trip and found it sitting on my luggage when unloading the car. Perhaps interesting to note that I had intentionally left my camera gear at home so I would not be tempted to look for spiders.

This spider was named and described in a paper that David Hill and myself published in the journal Peckhamia.

The courtship behaviour of this spider is extraordinary. Both play a kind of cat and mouse game and when I published this video I still did not know why they behaved in that way. It took almost a year to solve the puzzle and it happened when bringing together virgin females and males, you can see what happens then in the sequel to this video, Spid-a-boo2.

I watched female and males engaging in this way for many hours and regardless of how long the male tried a female that attacked him would not mate. This behaviour is NOT to tire out the female, tiredness plays no role here. The aim is to find a female that is receptive, one that has not yet mated. Instead of chasing the male with his paddle receptive females become calm and placid almost immediately when seeing the male’s paddle appearing over the edge of a leaf and it only takes a couple of minutes for them to decide to mate.

The clips I used in this video are only a fraction of what I originally shot. You can find many more scenes in my album on Vimeo.

The music for this clip was composed, played and recorded by cellist Kristin Rule. I love her work and I am glad she agreed to help me with this little clip. Research, camera, editing: Jurgen Otto Camera gear used: Canon C100 and 100mm macro lens For more on my work visit me on Facebook.

And now, newly discovered relatives of this spider species.

From ScienceDaily:

Trendy on eight legs: Jumping spider named after fashion czar Karl Lagerfeld

July 2, 2019

New to science species of Australian jumping spider was named after Hamburg-born fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld (1933-2019) after the arachnid reminded its discoverers of the designer. Intrigued by its distinct ‘downplayed’ black-and-white colours, the Hamburg-Brisbane-Melbourne team likened the spider’s appearance to Lagerfeld’s trademark style: his white hair and Kent collar that contrasted with the black sunglasses and gloves.

Thus, the curious species, now officially listed under the name Jotus karllagerfeldii was described in the open-access journal Evolutionary Systematics by Dr Danilo Harms of the Center for Natural History of the University of Hamburg (CeNak), Dr Barbara Baehr, Queensland Museum (Brisbane, Australia) and Joseph Schubert, Monash University (Melbourne).

When compared with other members in the ‘brushed’ jumping spider genus Jotus, the novel species clearly stands out due to its black-and-white legs and tactile organs (pedipalps), whereas the typical representative of this group demonstrates striking red or blue colours.

“The animal reminded us with its colours of the reduced style of Karl Lagerfeld. For example, we associate the black leg links with the gloves he always wore,” Danilo Harms explains.

In fact, what was to be now commonly referred to as Karl Lagerfeld’s Jumping Spider was identified amongst specimens in the Godeffroy Collection. Kept at CeNak, the historical collection was originally compiled by the inquisitive and wealthy tradesman from Hamburg Johann Cesar Godeffroy, who financed several expeditions to Australia back in the 19th century. Here, the research team identified another link between Australia, Godeffroy, Hamburg and Jotus karllagerfeldi.

Besides the tiny (4 to 5 mm) arachnid, whose pedipalps resemble a white Kent collar, the scientists describe another seven new to science species and add them to the same genus. Two of those, Jotus fortiniae and Jotus newtoni, were also named after inspirational figures for their hard work and creativity: educator, molecular biologist and science communicator Dr Ellen Fortini (Perth College, Western Australia) and keen naturalist and photographer Mark Newton. All novel species were found either in the Godeffroy Collection or amongst the jumping spiders housed at Queensland Museum.

Surprisingly, even though the genus Jotus comprises numerous species found all over Australia, there is not much known about these spiders. An interesting feature, according to the scientists behind the present study, are the huge telescopic eyes, which allow for spatial vision. The Jotus species need this ability in foraging, since they do not weave webs, but rather hunt in the open. Thus, they have evolved into extremely fast and agile hunters, capable of jumping short distances.

Curiously, back in 2017, the team of Barbara and Danilo, joined by Dr Robert Raven from Queensland Museum, described another previously unknown, yet fascinating species: a water-adapted spider, whose sudden emergence at the coastline of Australia’s “Sunshine State” of Queensland during low tide in January brought up the association with reggae legend Bob Marley and his song “High Tide or Low Tide.” The species, scientifically known as Desis bobmarleyi, was also published in Evolutionary Systematics.

Spiders start out social but later turn aggressive after dispersing and becoming solitary, according to a study publishing July 2 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Raphael Jeanson of the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France, and colleagues: here.