Male jumping spiders in the genus Maratus, produce some of the most elaborate visual displays in the animal kingdom. During courtship, males extend intricately ornamented abdominal flaps, which are waved at females in synchrony with their 3rd pair of legs while intermittently producing substrate-borne vibrations. Madeline Girard from the Rosenblum lab in collaboration with the Elias and Kasumovic labs studies sexual selection in Maratus to understand signal evolution, the development of female preferences, and sensory ecology across this endemic Australian group.
