Portia Jumping Spider

Description:

A cunning jumping spider that uses deceptions and intelligence to survive. About 7mm, male. Body colored in dirty brown except for it's furry pedipalps and the marking on the back of it's head are white. Legs are spiky, very thin at the lower part of the legs. Last pair of legs are bizarre, shaped like a stapler bullet. Spiders from the portia genus hunt in ingenious ways. They look like tiny leaf detritus to fool their preys - spiders. They can mimic and send vibration signals of struggling insects or courtship signals to the web of web spiders to attract the owner to come nearer and fall into their trap. Other than that, Portia spiders are clever enough to sneak up to their prey from behind if the prey is dangerous and only attacking them head on if the prey is defenseless. Portia spiders are different from other species of jumping spiders because they can think and learn from errors.

Habitat:

Forest floor and low plants of Poring Hot Springs, Ranau, Sabah.

Notes:

This is my first spotting of a Portia spider. I was very excited knowing that I have found the intelligent spider that I have been trying to look for a long time. Sorry for the blurred photographs, I sure wish that there was enough sunlight and it was less active. >>>Map accuracy : 3km radius.