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Tiger wandering spider vision: the science and the numbers

Cupiennius salei · order Araneae · Spiders: all the numbers

The tiger wandering spider has 3 colour receptor classes (340, 480 and 520 nm), one of them in the ultraviolet.[1] The tiger wandering spider stops seeing flicker at 6.5 Hz, against 60 Hz for people.[22]

See it on your photoBack to How does the tiger wandering spider see?
  • 3colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 6.5hertz flicker fusion (motion)Measured

The tiger wandering spider (Cupiennius salei) is a spider in the order Araneae. Its eyes belong to the vision type Jumping spider: two large principal eyes with a small sharp field, plus secondary eyes that watch for motion all around. Measured in this species: colour, night vision and motion (flicker fusion). Measured core: measured values on at least 3 of the 6 dials.

This is a simulation built from published eye measurements, not what the animal experiences.

Method: How we know what animals see (the See Like Animals vision engine) · Sources · Last updated . Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.

What the tiger wandering spider sees: colour receptors

Tiger wandering spider colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmTiger wandering spider: 3 receptor peaks at 340, 480, 520 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Tiger wandering spider: 340, 480, 520 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has three colour receptor classes, like most people, but one of them sees ultraviolet.
  • It stops seeing flicker at 6.5 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks choppier to it.[23][24]
  • Activity pattern: nocturnal.

The six dials

Evidence levels: how the tiers work. "Measured" means a value measured in this species; "Estimated" values come from a close relative or an eye-size formula. The last column gives the values for people from the same catalogue.

Vision values for the tiger wandering spider (Cupiennius salei), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
3 receptor classes: 340 nm (UVS), 480 nm (MWS (green)), 520 nm (MWS (green))
measured in this species
Measured[1]Colour receptors: 3 receptor classes: 421.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 532 nm (MWS (green)), 558.4 nm (LWS (long)) Measured (not re-verified)[1][2][3][4]
Ultraviolet
yes: at least one receptor peaks in the ultraviolet		Measured
SharpnessAcuity
12 cycles per degree
group default: median of tier-A values in vision type the "Jumping spider" type within phylum Arthropoda (1 species: Portia fimbriata)
Group default[5]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[6][7]
Field of viewNo value in the catalogue.Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[8][9]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[10]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[10]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[8][9]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
1
mode of species-v1 relatives in order Araneae: Portia fimbriata
Group default[5]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[11]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[11]
Fovea type
principal eyes: tiered retina (layer 1 = fovea-like)		Group default[5]
Night visionActivity pattern
nocturnal
mode of 1 rows (of 1 rows): nocturnal
Measured[1]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[12][13][14][1][15][16][17][18]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[19][20]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[21]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[12][13][14][1][15][16][17][18]
Rods vs cones
no rods (invertebrate photoreceptors)
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[1]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
6.5 Hz
median of 1 bright-light rows (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [6.45])
Measured[22]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[23][24]

All spiders side by side: Spiders: every measurement. Method: how we know what animals see.

Sources

  1. Longcore 2023
  2. Kirwan
  3. Müller et al. 2009
  4. Thermal Activation and Photoactivation of Visual… 2004
  5. Williams & McIntyre 1980
  6. Kirk et al. 2004
  7. Veilleux et al. 2014
  8. Heesy 2004
  9. Heffner et al. 1992
  10. Campbell & Green 1965
  11. Kopania et al. 2025
  12. Anderson et al. 2017
  13. Borges et al. 2018
  14. Wilman et al. 2014
  15. Maor et al. 2017
  16. Jones et al. 2009
  17. Schmitz et al. 2011
  18. Moura et al. 2024
  19. Banks et al. 2015
  20. Cervino et al. 2021
  21. Guareschi et al. 2025
  22. Lafitte et al. 2022
  23. Healy et al. 2013
  24. Inger et al. 2014

Every value cites its sources (all sources). Values were extracted from these works and converted (units, medians, derived values); changes are ours, and the listed sources do not endorse this site. Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this? Method: how we know.