Seven new peacock spider species discovered in Australia

This video says about itself:

2 May 2016

Maratus splendens, a species of peacock spider that can be found in moister habitats in the southeast corner of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria) but has been reported also from Western Australia.

This spider was named in 1896 but no further individuals were noted in the literature until I rediscovered this species in 2009 and David Hill and I reported on it in Peckhamia 89.1. As far as I am aware this is the only footage ever published of this spider.

Maratus splendens is one of the smaller species of Maratus, about 3 mm in length. Its “target” pattern is similar to that of Maratus pavonis, but both species can be easily distinguished. The most conspicuous difference is the presence of a silvery black area on the “head” in Maratus splendens which Maratus pavonis lacks.

For still images of this spider, including some that show its size, see my flickr collection.

Music credit: birds, crickets and frogs of the Sydney suburb of St. Ives.

If you want to learn more about peacock spiders I have bad news, there is no book about them. However, you may find my facebook page sufficiently interesting and entertaining.

Otto, J. C. and D. E. Hill. 2016. Seven new peacock spiders from Western Australia and South Australia (Araneae: Salticidae: Euophryini: Maratus). Peckhamia 141.1: 1-101: here.

Tiny structures give a peacock spider its radiant rump. Pigments produce reds and creamy yellows, while nanostructures reflect blue hues: here.