Why The "Jumping Spider" Is Actually Kinda... Cute?

Ross Piper's book, Animal Earth , showcases some pretty amazing creatures that people rarely see. One animal in particular, the Phidippus Audax - commonly known as the bold jumping spider - is likely to take you by surprise.

Here we go… Pretty huge and terrifying, right?

Animal Earth/BNPS

AND these suckers can jump up to 50 times their own body length... holy @#$%!!!!!!

Take a look at the adult male - not sure if you’ll be able to handle the monstrosity, though…

spiders.entomology.wisc.edu

YEP. So they're actually the size of your thumb nail.

"So they’re tiny. Whew. And probably super rare?"

nathistoc.bio.uci.edu

Nope! Watch out, Americans - these little ones can be found in almost every state!

"OH SHIII- THEY'RE POISONOUS, RIGHT?!?!"

prometheus.med.utah.edu

Nah, boo... Only venomous to their prey (insects and other spiders).

"BUT THEY MUST BITE HUMANS, RIGHT?!?!?!11111?!!?!"

reddit.com

HAHAHA! Oh, you were serious? They rarely bite humans!

"OK, I WANT MORE PROOF THAT THIS THING IS ACTUALLY CUTE."

Fine, here ya go. Here's one of Grechin (a Carolinensis) just chillin'.

Glad we have that settled. Hopefully this made you think twice about a creature who seemed pretty terrifying at first. Here’s to the Phidippus Audax!