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Photo#3156
Magnolia Green Jumper - Lyssomanes viridis

Magnolia Green Jumper - Lyssomanes viridis
Chattahoochee Nat'l Rec Area, Palisades, Georgia, USA
March 26, 2004
Although their eyes don't actually move, jumping spiders can move their retina around inside their eye sockets in order to look in different directions. You know that they are looking at you when you can see the black of the retina.

This one appears a bit crosseyed, demonstrating their ability to move each eye independently.

The retinal movements probably benefit them by not requiring them to physically move in order to focus on their prey.

I suppose if you're already keeping up with eight eyes, a little extra eye movement for two of them won't bother you.

The Tree of Life Web Project has more information on jumping spider vision.

Eyes
I captured one of these a couple days ago outside my house in Greenwood County, SC. I placed it under a loupe to get a photo, and while I was watching it through the loupe I could see the retinas moving as you described. The photos didn't turn out that great, but it was fun to examine. I released it after a short while to the place I found it.

Did you get that close up with your standard macro lens?

 
Canon Telephoto MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x
I actually took this using the Canon 65mm 1-5x macro lens (B&H Catalog). I just recently got it and I'm still trying to get the hang of it in the field. This picture isn't all that great, but it illustrates well the behavior I wanted to describe.

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