Local photographer captures shots of unique spider with mirror-like patches on abdomen

SINGAPORE - Many people often get freaked out at the sight of creepy crawlies, but only the biggest of arachnophobes would not be able to appreciate the beauty of this particular spider species.

Behold, the mirror spider.

For several years, local photographer Nicky Bay has been observing and snapping photos of these eight-legged creatures which have silver reflective patches that look like mirror shards on its abdomen.

Writing on his blog, he notes: "The 'silver-plates' on the abdomen seem to shrink when the spider is agitated, revealing the actual abdomen. At rest, the silver plates expand and the spaces between the plates close up to become an almost uniform reflective surface."

The photos on the blog were primarily taken in Singapore, with a few shots taken when he visited the Amazon Rainforest in Peru in 2015.

Mr Bay told AsiaOne that he has spotted these mirror spiders at various locations around the island.

"I've seen them in several places around Singapore, including Zhenghua Park and even along the Ulu Sembawang Park Connector. It would also be of little surprise to see them in any other nature park in Singapore," he said.

Mr Bay photographs almost all spider species from various angles to document them for guide books, and first started to develop a greater interest in mirror spiders after noticing their changing abdominal patterns.

"When I was going through my initial photos, I noticed that the abdominal patterns looked different on different photos of the same specimen. I then realised that they were dynamically changing and paid more attention to them in subsequent encounters," he explained.

While not a trained biologist, Mr Bay's work has been featured on the National Geographic website, as well as displayed in exhibitions at the National University of Singapore, The Straits Times reported last year.

Being an urbanised city-state, Singapore's biodiversity often goes unnoticed. However, the efforts of Mr Bay and other nature enthusiasts has recently brought greater attention to some of the unique and diverse wildlife found around the island.

Last November, a video of the rare and bizarre-looking trilobite beetle captured by Nat Geo Young Explorer Mark Wong in the jungles of Singapore went viral. The clip has since been viewed over 7.5 million times.

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Former photojournalist Mohd Ishak Salmon also regularly posts beautiful photographs of wild animals, including otters, monitor lizards and various bird species, around the island.

Read also: You won't believe these gorgeous wildlife photos were taken in Singapore

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