MaratusMaratus Image Index Maratus amabilis Maratus anomalus Maratus elephans Maratus hortorum Maratus madelineae Maratus nigromaculatus Maratus plumosus Maratus purcellae Maratus speculifer Maratus volans

The species Maratus in the family Salticidae (Jumping Spiders), are a group of spiders also commonly known as Peacock Spiders, due to the male of the species having colourful (often iridescent) patterns on the upper surface of the abdoment. The colourful display is displayed during courtship, where the male enhances their lateral flaps or bristles. The female of the species lack the bright colours, tending to be cryptic in appearance.

Check out our Maratus Image Index with links to the Maratus species listed throughout our site. Many thanks to Michael Doe, Jean and Fred Hort for their amazing photographs.

Maratus madelineae (variant), WA © Michael Doe
Maratus madelineae (variant), WA © Michael Doe
Maratus volans, NSW © Michael Doe
Maratus volans, NSW © Michael Doe
Maratus amabilis, Mount Kaputar NSW © Michael Doe
Maratus amabilis, Mount Kaputar NSW © Michael Doe
Maratus personatus, WA © Michael Doe
Maratus personatus, WA © Michael Doe
Maratus elephans (Peacock Spider) on tippy toes displaying to a female, NSW © Michael Doe
Maratus elephans (Peacock Spider), NSW © Michael Doe
  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Chelicerata
  • Class: Arachnida
  • Order: Araneae
  • Suborder: Araneomorphae
  • Infraorder: Entelegynae
  • Superfamily: Salticoidea
  • Family: Salticidae
  • Genus: Maratus
Maratus amabilis (newly moulted), Mount Kaputar NSW © Michael Doe
Maratus amabilis (newly moulted), Mount Kaputar NSW © Michael Doe

Footnote & References

  1. Photographs (Project Maratus) © Michael Doe
  2. Michael Doe on Flickr – spiderphotography21 and michael doe (Project Maratus)
  3. Catalogue of the Australian peacock spiders (Araneae: Salticidae: Euophryini: Maratus, Saratus), version 2, Jürgen C. Otto and David E. Hill, PECKHAMIA 148.2, 15 September 2017, 1―24 ISSN 2161―8526 (print) ISSN 1944―8120 (online) urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:57925A87-9063-425E-AB9A-1DEC3696AA38 (registered 7 SEP 2017), https://peckhamia.com/peckhamia/PECKHAMIA_148.2.pdf
  4. Peckhamia, The Peckham Society, founded in 1977 as an informal international alliance of amateur and professional naturalists or scientists with an interest in research related to the biology of jumping spiders (Arachnida: Araneae: Salticidae), https://peckhamia.com/
  5. Peacock Spider, Jurgen Otto, https://www.peacockspider.org
  6. A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia, Authors Robert Whyte, Gregory John Anderson, Publisher: CSIRO Publishing ISBN: 9780643107076, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329139666_A_Field_Guide_to_Spiders_of_Australia
  7. Project Maratus, Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/projectmaratus
  8. project_maratus, Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/project_maratus/
  9. Two new peacock spider species of the genus Maratus (Araneae: Salticidae: Salticinae) from south-western Australia, Western Australian Museum, https://museum.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/WAMRecords_2020_35_01to09_WALDOCKetal.pdf

MaratusMaratus Image Index Maratus amabilis Maratus anomalus Maratus elephans Maratus hortorum Maratus madelineae Maratus nigromaculatus Maratus plumosus Maratus purcellae Maratus speculifer Maratus volans

SpidersIndex of Spider Images Spiders in Australia Spiders Index Araneidae — Orb Weavers Arkys Australian Huntsman Spider Barking Spider Black House Spider Carepalxis sp Celaenia sp Crab Spiders Deinopidae — Net-casting Spiders Dolomedes sp Dolophones sp Euryopis umbilicate (Superb Ant-eater Spider) Flower Spiders Hackled Orbweavers (Uloboridae) Herennia sp Jewel Spider Jumping Spider Long Jawed Spider (Tetragnatha sp) Lynx Spider (Oxyopes) Mangrovia albida Maratus Missulena occatoria (Red-headed Mouse Spider) Miturgidae Nicodamidae (Red and Black Spider) Nyssus coloripes (Orange-legged Swift Spider) Ogre-faced Net-casting Spider Poltys sp (Twig Spider) Redback Spider Scorpion-tailed Spider (Arachnura higginsi) Thomisidae Wolf Spider Tiger Spider (Trichonephila plumipes) White-spotted Swift Spider (Nyssus albopunctatus)