Jumping Spider (Genus Maevia), taken May 20, 2026, in Georgia, US
A brightly-colored jumping spider that is somehow missing half of its legs! I've recently been finding a lot of spiders with a ridiculous number of legs missing; the other day I found one with only two, and it was still alive! This individual is interesting for both that reason and because it's possibly yet another undescribed Maevia jumping spider. The bold black and white prosoma (or cephalothorax) of this individual combined with the deep orange of its abdomen makes it quite unique-looking compared to others of the genus. The orange band around the eyes isn't shared by any known species, and eye markings tend to be where species differ the most with M. inclemens having no eye markings, M. expansa having white eye markings, and two undescribed species having yellow eye markings. I'm assuming, if it is unique, it'll become an acknowledged undescribed species soon enough, but, until then, it remains a mystery!
