This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
We've arrived at our primary field site! In the northeast edge of the Malaysian state of Sarawak lies Gunung Mulu National Park, a mountainous area with wonderful forests. It's a prime destination for ecotourists because of its amazing limestone pinnacles and striking biodiversity. For us, the attraction is spiders.
We need to settle in and get our bearings. Tomorrow, the serious work begins. But, we couldn't help but look for spiders, for just a few moments. Alex found this cute little Neobrettus whose first legs have striking brushes on them. As she walks, her first legs are in constant motion, waving up and down, and this motion is made especially visible by the brushes. Why it might help the spider to make such a fuss with its legs, we don't know:
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Spiders in Borneo: Introduction
Spiders in Borneo: Undiscovered biodiversity
Spiders in Borneo: The guests of honor: Salticidae
Spiders in Borneo: Team Salticid
Text and images © W. Maddison, under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (CC-BY)