This spider is capable of an unusual and amazing talent — cartwheeling itself across the desert.
Found in the arid region of Morocco, Cebrennus rechenbergi was discovered in 2014 and is capable of some seriously amazing acrobatic feats. But as impressive as these flips are, they are seriously disturbing for anyone with a fear of spiders.
Nicknamed the flic-flac spider by the man that discovered it for its flipping ability, the desert spider is able to move at twice its normal speed while cartwheeling.
Unfortunately, this comes at a price for the spider and this activity is likely a last-chance resort to avoid a predator.
While it can move at a speed of about 3 feet per second normally, during this process it is capable of doubling its speed.
However, since the moves take a lot of energy, it can only perform them sparingly. Researchers estimate that if the spider were to break out in flips more than ten times in a day, it would most likely die from exhaustion.
There are other spiders (mostly residing in desert habitats) such as the golden rolling spider that can move in similar ways, but only downhill, with gravity working to their advantage. For this reason, the flic-flac spider is in a league of its own.
A researcher actually made a robot based on the spider’s movements. Check out the video below to see what we mean:
