It leaps at its prey, has eyes on its belly and is covered in noxious bristly hair.
And according to the scientists who discovered it, this new species of jumping spider is also dead ringer for the Very Hungry Caterpillar.
A naturalist stumbled across the remarkable new breed of arachnid in a park on the outskirts of Hong Kong.
And they reckon its bulging eyes and bristles lend it a 'striking resemblance' to the children's book favourite, so have named it after renowned author Eric Carle.
The spider, dubbed Uroballus Carlei, was first spotted by naturalist Stefan Obenauer.
He contacted Dr Dmitri Logunov, curator of entomology at The Manchester Museum and a renowned expert on jumping spiders.
Dr Logunov examined the species and confirmed it to be previously unknown to science.
A major 'terror attack' training exercise is to be held in Manchester
"Jumping spiders belong to the most diverse spider groups on earth, accounting for more than 6,100 described species worldwide," Dr Logunov.
"They are particularly notable for their complex courtship behaviour."
Dr Logunov says the Uroballus Carlei's curious spiky appearance provides a clue to how the species has developed to better survive.
It mimics the appearance of a peculiar species of moths, commonly known as 'lichen moths', that it shares its habitat with.
The moths feed on the lichen in the trees, which makes them taste foul, and also are covered in noxious bristly hair.
It means predators usually avoid them after ending up with a mouthful of hairs and venom.
Lad told he's going to be a dad, goes on the lash, assaults a cop, jailed
Jumping spiders have evolved superior vision, aiding them greatly in their unusual mode of hunting.
Alongside a number of larger and smaller eyes on their foreheads, the normally have at least one other pair of eyes on the back edges of their thorax, the area between the stomach and neck, giving them all-round, binocular vision and a precise judgement of distances.
As is typical for the jumping spiders, the Uroballus Carlei don't spin webs to entangle their prey, but instead stalk small insects and similar animals on foot, and jump at them from quite some distance, in a similar manner to cats.
Read more of today's top stories here
This is why they are often called ‘eight-legged cats’.
They tend to feed on flies and bugs.
