Banksia Peacock Spider Identification Australia

About the Banksia peacock spider

Banksia peacock spiders are tiny Australian jumping spiders from south-western Western Australia. Males can show vivid transverse abdominal stripes and side flaps during courtship, while females and immature spiders are much plainer. The species is most useful to compare when a very small jumping spider is photographed in Perth-region bushland, banksia woodland, jarrah forest or nearby low vegetation.

Exact-species hero photograph: Maratus mungaich by Candalides01, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Exact-species specimen views

These licensed exact-taxon photographs show useful anatomy and variation. Use each caption for record and image context; no single image set represents every colour, posture or habitat.

How to identify the Banksia peacock spider cautiously

Start with family-level characters. Maratus mungaich is a very small jumping spider in Salticidae, so a useful photograph should show the front of the body and the large forward-facing principal eyes, not only a colourful abdomen. The body is compact and the spider moves by short, alert jumps rather than sitting in a prey-catching web. In a mature male, the abdomen can be lifted into a broad fan with contrasting transverse bands, red or orange scales and pale or dark margins; the exact arrangement is the useful clue, not the mere presence of red. The first published account described this species from south-western Western Australia, including banksia woodland and jarrah forest, and later peacock-spider treatments distinguish the mungaich group from other Maratus by the male fan pattern and locality together. Those characters make a good adult male a plausible M. mungaich candidate, but a phone photograph of a tiny jumper rarely proves the species. Females, juveniles, moulting spiders and folded fans should be kept at Maratus or Salticidae until an expert can assess the whole animal.

Clues that are not enough on their own

• A red, orange or yellow fan colour alone, because many Maratus species and lighting conditions overlap
• The common name “banksia” without a documented south-west Western Australian locality
• A tiny jumping spider with large eyes, which establishes Salticidae more reliably than M. mungaich
• A single cropped abdomen or folded fan that hides the whole pattern and sex
• A female or juvenile assumed to be the species because a nearby male was photographed
• A garden, wall or leaf encounter without adult characters and a defensible locality
• A short silk line treated as proof of a capture web or as proof that the spider is not a peacock spider
• A display triggered by tapping or blowing, because disturbance behaviour is not a diagnostic character
• A colour match to one online photograph without comparing scale, body shape and variation

Colour, sex and life-stage variation

Sex and age change the appearance dramatically. Adult males are the most conspicuous because the abdomen may be raised and the lateral flaps spread during courtship, while females are usually brown, grey or otherwise cryptic and lack the same display fan. Immature spiders can be paler, less patterned and proportionally different; a male with the fan folded may look like an ordinary tiny ground jumper. Sun, shade, flash, focus stacking and iridescent scales can shift red, yellow, blue, white and black into very different apparent colours. The two exact-species photographs linked on this page document particular M. mungaich individuals, including pattern variation, rather than a universal colour chart. Do not use a bright fan, a red stripe or the common name alone to identify a female or juvenile. Record sex if known, body length with a scale beside the spider, dorsal and side views, and the original locality.

Behaviour, web and retreat

Like other Maratus, this species is a visual hunter that searches low vegetation, leaf litter and ground-layer surfaces instead of building an orb or sheet capture web. A male may pause, orient towards another spider, wave the third legs, lift the abdomen and open the fan in a courtship sequence. Display is a communication behaviour, not aggression, and a spider that jumps away or hides is responding to disturbance. Short silk retreats can still be used for shelter, moulting or eggs, so “no web” means no obvious prey-catching web, not a complete absence of silk. Banksia and jarrah habitat is an important ecological clue, but a record on a garden plant or a wall does not by itself extend the species range. Do not tap leaves, blow on a spider or chase it for a display; observe quietly and leave the animal in place.

Australian distribution

The World Spider Catalog accepts Maratus mungaich Waldock, 1995 in Salticidae and lists it from Australia, specifically Western Australia. The original Western Australian Museum description named banksia woodland and jarrah forests in the south-west, and later catalogue work treats it as part of the M. mungaich group. The state filter on this page is therefore Western Australia only. Perth-region bushland and the Swan Coastal Plain are useful context for some photographed records, but a broad label such as “southern Australia”, a peacock-spider-looking image or an old informal name does not establish a new state or species. Several Maratus species overlap in south-west WA and males can be misidentified when a fan is partly folded; keep the locality, season, sex, scale and multiple views with any observation and use the broader peacock-spider page when those pieces do not agree.

What to do if you find one

Leave a Banksia peacock spider on its leaf litter or low vegetation; it is a harmless small predator and is easiest to study without handling. Take one whole-body frame from above, one front or three-quarter frame showing the eyes, a side view, and a wider habitat frame. If a male begins a display, step back and let it finish rather than trying to provoke the fan. A ruler or coin should sit beside the spider, never underneath it, and a location at suburb or reserve level is more useful than a guessed species name. When gardening in dense banksia or jarrah vegetation, wear gloves and keep hands out of crevices, but do not grab or trap a spider. If an indoor jumper must be moved and no bite has occurred, use a wide container and card while keeping fingers clear, then release it onto sheltered vegetation nearby. For any bite, follow current Australian health advice based on symptoms; a photograph cannot determine medical risk.

Compare with similar spiders

Use body shape, web or retreat, location and behaviour together before settling on a likely match.

• Peacock spider — Peacock spider - use the broader Maratus page when the jumping-spider face or fan display is clear but the south-west WA locality and exact pattern are not.
• Coastal peacock spider — Coastal peacock spider - Maratus speciosus can overlap in Perth-region habitats and also has a striking male fan; compare the documented coastal context and adult fan pattern rather than the common name.
• Blue-faced peacock spider — Blue-faced peacock spider - Maratus personatus has its own blue facial and fan characters. A blue or turquoise flash in a small photograph is not enough to separate it from M. mungaich.
• Common peacock spider — Common peacock spider - Maratus pavonis is widespread and variable; keep an uncertain tiny jumper at Maratus or Salticidae unless adult characters and locality support one species.

Sources for this profile

These accessible authoritative sources support the identification and bite-safety context on this page.

• World Spider Catalog: Maratus mungaich
• Australian Faunal Directory: Maratus mungaich
• Atlas of Living Australia: Maratus mungaich
• Waldock 1995: original description in Western Australian Museum
• Otto & Hill 2014: Maratus mungaich group review
• Australian Museum: Jumping spiders
• Australian jumping-spider key: Maratus
• Otto & Hill 2017: Australian peacock-spider catalogue
• Wikimedia Commons: exact Maratus mungaich photograph
• Wikimedia Commons: second exact Maratus mungaich photograph
• healthdirect: Spider bites

Profile review

Published by Spider Identifier Australia. Last factual review: 13 August 2026.