Scientists have discovered a brand new species of spider that is capable of cartwheeling away from danger.
Research was outlined in a new paper published this week in Zootaxa by German spider expert Peter Jager.
The aerobatic nocturnal Cebrennus rechenbergi spider lives in the sand desert Erg Chebbi in southeastern Morocco, not far from the Algerian border.
The spider is capable of creating a tube-like domicile in the sand with its feelers and specialized, elongated bristles, which provides protection from predators and the sun, according to the study.
The spider's greatest talent however is its ability to move by means of flic-flac jumps. The flic-flac spider uses its legs to create a rolling motion to avoid predators, according to the study.
At almost 6.6 feet per second, the jumps allow the spider to move twice as fast as it would by walking (3.3-feet-per-second.)
It provides the spider with great flexibility as it can move fast up or down hill or even on level ground.
The move is costly however, according to the study.
"It is a costly move," says Jager. "If it performs this five to 10 times within one day, then it dies."
The spider has been known to display this type of behavior when provoked by a human, a scorpion, a congener, or a camel spider, according to the paper.
Scientific American said that there aren't many other animals that are capable of "cartwheeling" their way to safety.
The only other species currently known to so includes the larvae of the southeastern beach tiger beetle and the American mantis shrimp.
The spider was named after scientists Prof. Ingo Rechenberg from Berlin, according to the study.
Click below to view the spider in action.
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