Maratus is a spider genus of the family Salticidae. These spiders are commonly referred to as peacock spiders due to the males' colorful and usually iridescent patterns on the upper surface of the abdomen often enhanced with lateral flaps or bristles, which they display during courtship. Females lack these bright colors, being cryptic in appearance. In at least one species, Maratus vespertilio, the expansion of the flaps also occurs during ritualised contests between males. The male display and courtship dance are complex, involving visual and vibratory signals.
Maratus volans is a species in the jumping spider family (Salticidae), belonging to the genus Maratus. These spiders are native to certain areas in Australia and occupy a wide distribution of habitats. They have a specialized visual system that allows them to see the full visible spectrum as well as in the ultraviolet-range; this helps them detect and pursue prey. Males of this species are characterized by their colourful abdomen flaps that are used to attract females during courtship.
Saitis barbipes is a common jumping spider found in the Mediterranean region.
Australia has a number of highly venomous spiders, including the Sydney funnel-web spider, its relatives in the family Hexathelidae, and the redback spider, whose bites can be extremely painful and have historically been linked with deaths in medical records. Most Australian spiders do not have venom that is considered to be dangerously toxic. No deaths caused by spider bites in Australia have been substantiated by a coronial inquest since 1979. There are sensationalised news reports regarding Australian spiders that fail to cite evidence. A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia published by CSIRO Publishing in 2017 featuring around 836 species illustrated with photographs of live animals, around 381 genera and 78 families, introduced significant updates to taxonomy from Ramirez, Wheeler and Dmitrov.
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every land habitat. As of November 2023, 51,673 spider species in 136 families have been recorded by taxonomists. However, there has been debate among scientists about how families should be classified, with over 20 different classifications proposed since 1900.
Maratus speciosus, sometimes called the coastal peacock spider, is an Australian species of jumping spider. They are only known to inhabit the vegetation of the coastal sand dunes of southwestern Western Australia. Like other Maratus spiders, the males of the species engage in a courtship display during which they raise their third pair of legs and their abdomen, presenting their colourful opisthosomal plate to potential female partners. Accompanying their elaborate dance moves, males beat their front and back body halves together, sending vibrations that travel through the ground which the females pick up, stimulating them into receiving higher chances of a successful mate. Unlike other Maratus, however, the males of this species have a set of bright orange hairs (setae) along both edges of the opisthosoma which only become visible during this display. Maratus speciosus derives from the arachnid class with both sexes measuring about 5 mm in body length, equivalent to a pencil eraser. They are known as the smallest species of spiders. This organism is known as diurnal cursorial hunters, meaning they feed on insects. Like any other jumping spider, they rely on their keen vision and jumping actions to help them travel and spot prey at far distances.
Maratus sceletus is a species of the genus Maratus, an Australian member of the jumping spider family. Described in 2015, they have been collected only in Wondul Range National Park in southern Queensland. The species name is derived from the Latin sceletus "skeleton", from its distinctive body pattern. Maratus sceletus is a small species, from 3.7 to 4.7 mm long. The male is black with prominent white stripes and markings across its carapace and legs.
Maratus spicatus is a species of the genus Maratus, an Australian member of the jumping spider family. It was described in 2012 and is native to Western Australia.
Maratus lobatus is a species of the peacock spider genus, characterised by its distinctive courtship display. They are found on the south coast of Western Australia and in South Australia.
Maratus vespa is a species of the peacock spider genus, Maratus, characterised by its distinctive courtship display. The male spiders are characterized by a bright abdomen, lateral flaps, and an elongated third pair of legs. When attempting to attract a mate, the male spider will raise its colourful abdomen and elongated third pair of legs and wave them, along with extending its lateral flaps. This complex display of courtship is analogous to that of a peacock, hence the common name of this spider species.
Maratus harrisi is a species of the genus Maratus, an Australian member of the jumping spider family. It was described in 2011 and is native to the Australian Capital Territory.
Menemerus bifurcus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The species was first described in 1999 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 descriptions she has written during her lifetime. The spider lives in groups in Acacia, Combretum, Jacaranda, Spathodea and Trichilia trees as well as in houses and other areas of human habitation. It descends to attack prey on long threads of silk. It is a small spider, with a carapace that is between 1.9 and 2.3 millimetres long and an abdomen between 1.9 and 2.5 millimetres long. The female is larger than the male and generally lighter, ranging generally from fawnish-brown to dark brown. The species is similar to Menemerus formosus and Menemerus transvaalicus but differs in the design of its copulatory organs. The male has a short embolus with a longer lamella, which is recalled in the species name, and two distinctive tibial appendages, or apophyses, one with a characteristic triangular lobe. Examples found in Zimbabwe have one longer tibial apophysis. The female has a heart-shaped depression in the epigyne and an unusual insemination duct morphology.
Icius mbitaensis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Icius that lives in Kenya. It was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska. The spider lives communally in individual nests amongst other spiders and preys on insects, relying on its good eyesight to hunt diurnally. It is small, with a cephalothorax between 2.0 and 2.2 mm long and an abdomen 2.2 and 2.7 mm long. The female and male are similar in size and colouration of the carapace. The male abdomen is grey-brown with a faint pattern visible on some specimens. The female has a brown abdomen, sometimes more reddish-brown to the front, with some examples having a patch in the middle and spots to the back. The species is similar to other Icius spiders but differs in the size of the embolus and tibial apophysis of the male and the epigynal depression and pockets, seminal ducts and spermathecae of the female.
Pelegrina aeneola is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is found in North America. Not much is known about this species.
Maratus combustus is a species of peacock spider native to Australia. The species was discovered together with Maratus felinus and Maratus aquilus by a research group from Monash University, near Lake Jasper in the South West region of Western Australia. However, the ranges of each species do not overlap.
Maratus pavonis is a species of jumping spider (Salticidae), endemic to Australia, where it is found in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. The species epithet, pavonis, derives from the Latin, pavo, pavonis, meaning "peacock".
Maratus mungaich, the banksia peacock spider, is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is endemic to Western Australia.
Maratus griseus, the white-banded house jumping spider, is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is found in Australia and New Zealand.
Aelurillus hirtipes, synonym Aelurillus sinaicus, is a species of jumping spider in the genus Aelurillus that lives in North Africa. First identified by Jacques Denis in Chad in 1960 as part of the Missions Berliet-Ténéré, it has also been found in Algeria, Egypt and Morocco. The spider is small, with a brown carapace that is between 3.5 and 3.6 mm long and a yellow abdomen that measures between 3 and 4 mm in length. The male has a small hooked embolus protruding from its palpal bulb and the female has S-shaped flaps on the epigyne and short copulatory ducts. The spider has a covering of light hairs, whiter on the female and more yellow on the male. These hairs help distinguish it from the related Aelurillus v-insignitus and Aelurillus plumipes
Maratus anomalus or the unusual peacock spider, is a species of peacock spider in the family Salticidae. M. anomalus was described by Karsch in 1878 in Queensland Australia and New South Wales.
