Distinguishing features
Size
- Size data has not been obtained.
Synonyms
Distribution and habitat preferences
Peacock spiders are most active during their breeding season, the Austral Spring. Mature males emergeas early as August and persist in large numbers until December. Mature females typically appear a little later and survive longer than males, although they too become scarce by December, when they tuck themselves away to lay and guard egg sacs.
While these patterns generally hold, in actuality, male and female activity is highly variable during this period, seemingly species and region specific.
Peacock spiders are widespread across the southern-half of Australia and live in a diverse range of habitats, from sand dunes on the temperate coasts to grasslands in the semiarid regions (J. Waldock, personal communication). As is true for many salticids, some species, such as Maratus volans, have a large distribution and occupy a wide array of environments. On the other hand, several peacock spiders are more specialized or geographically limited; for example, Maratus sarahae is found exclusively in heath habitats on two peaks in the Stirling Ranges. The majority of peacock spiders studied are ground-dwelling, predominantly found on leaf-litter under eucalypt woodlands. However, some species, such as Maratus speciosus, seem to occur more in shrubs or young grass-trees (Xanthorrhoea).
