In a 2025 study of splendid peacock spiders (Maratus splendens), researchers measured average take-off forces of 13.03 times gravity in sampled males and 12.5 times gravity in sampled females. These are averages from one species—not universal records for all spiders. The study found that jumping combines hydraulic pressure and muscle action, rather than showing that fluid pressure alone powers the leap.
How did researchers measure a spider’s jump?
The study, “Sexual dimorphism in jump kinematics and choreography in peacock spiders,” examined locomotory jumps by male and female Maratus splendens. Researchers filmed the spiders at 5,000 frames per second, then used micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to locate each animal’s center of mass. By tracking that point through the jump, they reconstructed displacement and calculated acceleration. The paper defines g-force as acceleration divided by 9.81.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The sample included 10 males and 12 females. The resulting values describe the averages for those sampled spiders; they are not the highest force an individual could produce, nor a measurement of every peacock spider species.
What G-forces did male and female peacock spiders reach?
| Measure | Sampled males | Sampled females |
|---|---|---|
| Number of spiders | 10 | 12 |
| Mean body mass | 4.94 mg | 10.40 mg |
| Average take-off G-force | 13.03 g | 12.5 g |
| Average take-off duration | 20.8 ms | 24.6 ms |
| Average take-off angle | 25.08° | 20.89° |
These values are reported in the 2025 study by Narendra and colleagues in the Journal of Experimental Biology. The males in this sample were lighter on average and had shorter, steeper take-offs. Those observations do not by themselves establish that one sex is simply the better jumper: body mass differed between the groups, and the authors’ comparisons change when mass is taken into account.
#1 Best Overall
What does the male–female comparison show?
In the reported comparisons, males took off in less time and at a steeper angle than females. But after controlling for body mass, males were lower on most of the measured kinematic variables; jump power was the exception. The distinction matters because the sampled females had more than twice the males’ mean body mass. A raw comparison of averages can therefore obscure how size relates to jump performance.
The study describes M. splendens as having the fastest acceleration among the jumping spiders compared in that research. That is a bounded comparison within the study, not a claim that the species holds an all-animal speed or acceleration record.
Rank #2
What does “hydraulic jump” mean here?
The authors describe the jump as a combination of hydraulic pressure and muscular action. “Hydraulic” is therefore not a complete explanation on its own: the paper presents the spiders’ movement as a semi-hydraulic system involving both pressure and muscle.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
The authors also argue that this system is unlikely to include an elastic or stored-energy component. Their interpretation rests partly on the comparatively lower G-forces they report relative to animals that rely on stored energy to jump. It is an explanation proposed by the study, not a result showing that hydraulic pressure alone produces the leap.
Rank #3
- Used Book in Good Condition
Does the comparison with fighter pilots mean the same thing?
Macquarie University’s news account compared spiders experiencing more than 13 times gravity with the 9G extremes experienced by fighter pilots. That helps convey the scale of the acceleration, but it is not a direct physiological equivalence: a spider’s soft, fluid-filled body and a human body are different, and the comparison does not establish matching exposure durations or effects.
Associate Professor Ajay Narendra explained the difference this way: “For animals like us with more rigid bodies, the ability to withstand G-forces is far more limited than for spiders, whose soft and fluid-filled bodies deal with this pressure in a far better way.” The comment is from the university’s account, rather than a separate human-versus-spider experiment in the paper.
Rank #4
- NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY FIELD GUIDE TO INSECTS AN
- NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY FIELD GUIDE TO INSECTS AN
- Random House
Why are the spiders’ legs relevant beyond jumping?
The university account notes that the specialized third pair of legs also plays a role in male courtship displays. That creates a trade-off in the behavior described by study co-author Pranav Joshi: “When a male is showing off to attract a female, it can’t use its jumping leg to escape from predators. This makes the spider very vulnerable.” The finding puts jumping in a broader behavioral context: the legs involved in locomotion also matter during courtship.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The researchers have raised robotics as a possible source of inspiration. The study itself does not demonstrate a robot, a working application, or a design based on the spider.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Sources
- Narendra et al., “Sexual dimorphism in jump kinematics and choreography in peacock spiders,” Journal of Experimental Biology, 2025 (primary research article).
- Journal of Experimental Biology article DOI.
- Fran Molloy, “Tiny Australian Peacock Spiders break records in speed-jumping,” The Lighthouse, Macquarie University, 20 February 2025 (university news account).
- PubMed bibliographic entry.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
