Maratus jactatus

(Photo : Jürgen Otto) A male of the peacock spider species Maratus jactatus, nicknamed Sparklemuffin, lifts its leg as part of a mating dance.

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Researchers have discovered two new species of peacock spiders, a brightly colored group of spiders known for their remarkable colors and their dancelike courtship routines
Peacock spiders belong to the jumping spider family called Salticidae, the largest family in the order Araneae.
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The newly discovered species have been nicknamed as “Skeletorus” and “Sparklemuffin.”
Skeletorus has white markings on a black background, which make it look a bit like a skeleton. Sparklemuffin looks similar to three previously discovered species in this group of peacock spiders. On the other hand, Skeletorus looks very different from all the other known species in the group.
The two new species were found in southeast Queensland by Madeline Girard, a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley who studies peacock spiders, and a friend who went with her into the field.
Girard warmly gave the nickname Sparklemuffin to one of the species, Maratus jactatus, which has bluish and reddish stripes on its abdomen. The spiders are very small, measuring between 3 and 7 millimeters (0.1 to 0.3 inches) long.
“Despite the large number of species we have discovered just in the last few years, I can’t help feeling that we may have just scratched the surface of this most exciting group of spiders, and that nature has quite a few more surprises in store,” said Jurgen Otto, an entomologist and expert spider photographer in Australia.
Study co-author David Hill said the first peacock spider was discovered in the 1800s. It has been 100 years since people noticed the species, however. Otto begun photographing them and recording their courtship displays.
The male spiders show a flap-like body part called a fan adorned with a pattern of bold, transverse stripes. They also raise a single leg, displaying it to the female.
The new research was published in the journal Peckhamia.

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