Another hugely misunderstood animal. Jumping spiders are ferociously adorable if you ask me, though to other people they’re serial killer vermin worthy of a boot to the thorax.

There are thousands of species of jumping spiders all over the world and they manifest in so many different colours and shapes. But obviously unique to them is their ability to jump – several times their own length. Besides that, their behaviour and movements are also very different from other spiders. I usually describe them as “charismatic” with their big eyes and erratic, curious movements.

Anyways, I wanted to highlight this little one from Zambia. Male spiders can be identified by their large front paddle-like “arms” called pedipalps, and many of them have relatively small back bodies relatively to female spiders.