Most of the time, Jürgen Otto works as a biologist at the Australian Department of Agriculture in Sydney. There, he identifies potentially invasive mites that are found on container ships arriving in Australia. This job has made Otto an expert at studying very small creatures. Recently he’s become fascinated by another type of minuscule animal: colorful, fuzzy spiders that are—dare we say it—cute.

Peacock jumping spiders are only about 3 millimeters (or about an eighth of an inch) long and are found only in Australia. Males have bright colors and impressive dance moves that attract female peacock spiders. The furry animals are so endearing that they’ve even won the hearts of some arachnophobes, or people who are afraid of spiders.

Otto spends almost 40 hours a week looking for, observing, and filming peacock spiders. He’s discovered 10 new species and has helped fellow scientists identify many more (including a species nicknamed Sparklemuffin). Videos of the dancing spiders that he’s posted online are hugely popular—one video has received more than 4 million views. Science World spoke with Otto about his work with the spiders.

I was on a nature walk outside of Sydney in 2005. While taking photos of wildflowers, I nearly stepped on a spider. It quickly began to jump away. I’d never seen a spider move that way, so I snapped a picture. Afterward, I tried to find out what I’d photographed. It was a challenge, because there were no pictures of it on the Internet. I finally found an image of the animal in a book from the 1970s. It was called Maratus volans, which basically means “flying spider.”

What I love about looking for peacock spiders is that there’s great potential to discover new species because they haven’t been studied much. When I photograph one, there’s always a good chance that it has never been seen before.

I’m very familiar with the scientific method, which includes techniques for making observations and gathering data. I use this method to take careful notes on the spiders’ features and behavior.

These observations help me classify and name new species. When choosing a name, I look for characteristics that are unique. For example, I gave the name “elephans” to a species that looked like it had an elephant’s face on its back, and “sceletus” to another with black-and-white skeleton-like markings.

When people see the photos and watch the videos I’ve taken of these tiny spiders, they think they’re adorable. This helps them appreciate other spiders a little more too—even the ones that may look a little bit “scarier.”

In many ways, peacock spiders are similar to us. They have two big front eyes, and they push themselves up on their front legs to see better if they’re curious. They rush away if they’re afraid or toward something if they’re excited. With their furriness and the way they look at me, they remind me of puppies or kittens!