'Arachnophobes love them': Sydney scientist's 'adorable' spider discovery

A Sydney scientist has discovered seven new species of peacock spiders — a tiny and colourful arachnid that lurks in scrub and bushland across southern Australia.

The man who made the discovery, Jurgen Otto, said he believed even the most extreme arachnophobes would be enchanted by the beauty of the creatures, which are just a few millimetres in length.

"They're just absolutely incredible. People still think that I make them up because they're so unbelievable," Dr Otto said.

"People can't picture that they're such a package of beauty."

While it is hard to imagine someone describing a spider in such a way, one look at the spectacular images Dr Otto has captured explains his passion.

"Normally people think of spiders as something ugly, scary and dangerous, but they're learning through my photographs and videos — they're cute and colourful and adorable," he said.

"Even people who hate spiders, extreme arachnophobes love these spiders. They can't help it."

At only a few millimetres in size, Dr Otto said he believed there are now 48 confirmed species of spider within the Maratus genus.

Dr Otto published his new discoveries with co-author David Hill in the jumping spider journal Peckhamia.

Spider expert David Knowles helped Dr Otto find the spiders along Western Australia's southern tip.

What strikes him about these spiders is their incredible dance moves to attract females.

"The males that have the best routines and best colour combination they will get to spread their genes into the next generation," Mr Knowles said.

"From a Darwinistic, ecological point of view that's the females putting pressure on the males to look better and dance better."

Dr Otto said the peacock arachnids could be found anywhere in Australia.

"As far as we know they don't occur anywhere else in the world and they seem to prefer the southern half of the continent where it's more temperate," Dr Otto said.

"Pretty much every type of bush is suitable for them but you cannot predict where you'll find them, so you just have to spend a long time looking until you find one."

Dr Otto — a biologist who studies mites by day — has been fascinated by the spiders for more than a decade.

"I saw my first peacock spider in 2005, it was on a family walk in Ku-Rin-Gai Chase National Park, just walked along and there was this little thing jumping in my path," he said.

"I almost stepped on it.

"It was a spider but it was a spider that jumped more nimbly than other ones I've seen before.

"I took a photograph and then later I went home, looked at it on the computer and was just blown away."

Since then, Dr Otto has published his photos and videos on YouTube, generating a significant following.

But Dr Otto is not stopping there. He is keeping his eyes peeled for the next tiny discovery.

"You just have to walk along, look on the ground and eventually they will pop up," he said.