Sexual dimorphism in jump kinematics and choreography in peacock spiders

Jumping requires a rapid release of energy to propel an animal. Terrestrial animals achieve this by relying exclusively on the power generated by muscles, or by storing and rapidly releasing elastic energy. Jumping spiders rely on hydraulic pressure and muscular action to propel their jump. Though males and females of jumping spiders vary in size, sex-specific differences in jumping have never been studied. We investigated sexual dimorphism in the jump kinematics of an Australian Peacock spider, Maratus splendens. We recorded locomotory jumps in males and females using high-speed videography (5000 frames per second). We determined the centre of mass of the animals using µCT and tracked its displacement during a jump. We found that although females weighed more than twice as much as males, both had similar accelerations and take-off velocities. Males had shorter jump take-off duration, steeper take-off angle, and experienced higher g-force compared to the females. We report on the jump c..., Data was collected from high speed videography, , # Sexual Dimorphism in Jump Kinematics and Choreography in Peacock Spiders

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.hdr7sqvsp](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.hdr7sqvsp)

## Description of the data and file structure

We have provided two files: (a) S1_Maratus.mp4 and (b) Maratus_splendens_kinematics.csv

(a) S1_Maratus.mp4: (in Zenodo) Includes two sample video footage of the full jump, one of the male and one of the female. It also contains two sample high-magnification video footage of the jumps with annotations of leg movements. We have provided footage of one male and one female. 

Frame rate and playback speed are indicated on the videos itself. 

(b) Maratus_splendens_kinematics.csv: This file contains data for 30 male and 35 female Maratus splendens jumps. 

Column headers indicate information in each column:

1. Sex: male or female
2. Condition: we filmed either a full jump (the take off and landing platform were in the field of view) or take-off only (where only the take-off was filmed a...