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| Two new peacock spiders identified in Western Australia | Two new peacock spiders identified in Western Australia |
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| It is only a few millimetres in size, performs a dance as part of a courtship ritual and has striking coloured markings on its back that “look like a pharaoh’s headdress”. | It is only a few millimetres in size, performs a dance as part of a courtship ritual and has striking coloured markings on its back that “look like a pharaoh’s headdress”. |
| But when biologist Jürgen Otto first spotted the peacock spider species he has named Maratus unicup, he didn’t immediately recognise how special it was. | But when biologist Jürgen Otto first spotted the peacock spider species he has named Maratus unicup, he didn’t immediately recognise how special it was. |
| “I didn’t think much of it because I’m partially colour blind,” he says. “But there was quite a reaction to photographs of it on the internet, with people saying it’s beautiful.” | “I didn’t think much of it because I’m partially colour blind,” he says. “But there was quite a reaction to photographs of it on the internet, with people saying it’s beautiful.” |
| Maratus unicup is one of two new peacock spider species Otto and his colleague David Hill have named in a new paper published in the international spider journal Peckhamia. | Maratus unicup is one of two new peacock spider species Otto and his colleague David Hill have named in a new paper published in the international spider journal Peckhamia. |
| Otto discovered the spider near Lake Unicup in Western Australia last year. He said the new species was notable for its courtship display in which the male dances – swinging its abdomen from side to side – while the female watches from a close distance. | Otto discovered the spider near Lake Unicup in Western Australia last year. He said the new species was notable for its courtship display in which the male dances – swinging its abdomen from side to side – while the female watches from a close distance. |
| The second species they have named Maratus tortus and was discovered by environmental consultant and educator David Knowles in 1994 near Walpole in WA. | The second species they have named Maratus tortus and was discovered by environmental consultant and educator David Knowles in 1994 near Walpole in WA. |
| Knowles and Otto have returned to the site several times and were finally able to capture specimens of the spider last year. | Knowles and Otto have returned to the site several times and were finally able to capture specimens of the spider last year. |
| Knowles had originally nicknamed the species “hokey pokey” because of the male’s curious twisting dance. | Knowles had originally nicknamed the species “hokey pokey” because of the male’s curious twisting dance. |
| “There’s no other peacock spider that has this kind of a display,” Otto said. “It looks almost like a Spanish bullfight, where the female is the bull and the male is the bullfighter.” | “There’s no other peacock spider that has this kind of a display,” Otto said. “It looks almost like a Spanish bullfight, where the female is the bull and the male is the bullfighter.” |
| In the new paper, Otto and Hill say there are now 70 species of peacock spiders, the majority of which have been named by them during the past seven years. | In the new paper, Otto and Hill say there are now 70 species of peacock spiders, the majority of which have been named by them during the past seven years. |
| Otto publishes images and videos of the spiders he finds on his website and on his Facebook and YouTube pages. Most of the spiders are found in WA or south-eastern Australia. But they can be elusive. | |
| “I tend to find them less common in bright sunshine. The best times of the day are in the morning and afternoon,” he said. | “I tend to find them less common in bright sunshine. The best times of the day are in the morning and afternoon,” he said. |
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