Common Peacock Spider Identification Australia

About the Common peacock spider

Common peacock spiders are tiny Australian jumping spiders best known from southern Australia. Males can show bright orange, blue, black and white abdominal patterning during courtship, while females and juveniles are plainer and easier to mistake for other small jumpers. Their small size, large front eyes, jerky movement and no-web hunting style make them a useful comparison for other peacock spiders and garden jumping spiders.

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 a Common peacock spider cautiously

The accepted name is Maratus pavonis (Dunn, 1947), a tiny member of Salticidae and the peacock-spider genus Maratus. The Western Australian Museum gives a maximum body length of about 5 mm for females and 4 mm for males. Start with the family-level face: a sharp view should show the large forward-facing principal eyes, a compact jumper body and short alert movements rather than a prey-catching web. In a mature male, the abdomen can show two red symmetrical crescents around a central red spot on a blue background, with the pattern extending onto short side flaps. Those flaps fold away outside display. This combination is a useful adult clue, not a promise that every red-and-blue tiny jumper is M. pavonis. A whole-body photograph, sex, locality and folded or open fan are more informative than a cropped colour patch.

Clues that are not enough on their own

• Any red, orange, blue, black or white patch, because Maratus species, lighting and iridescent scales overlap
• Tiny size and large front eyes, which establish a jumping-spider type but not M. pavonis
• The word common or a southern-Australian garden location treated as proof of species identity
• A raised abdomen or third-leg wave without the complete adult fan pattern and body context
• A female or juvenile matched to a colourful adult-male photograph
• A cropped abdomen that hides the face, leg pattern, folded flaps and body scale
• A single online photograph or social-media label copied without checking current Saitis/Maratus taxonomy
• A short silk line treated as proof of a capture web or proof that the spider is not a peacock spider
• A locality outside the WSC filters used to accept or reject the species without expert review

Colour, sex and life-stage variation

Sex and life stage change the spider more than the common name suggests. Males are the conspicuous, ornamented sex and may expose the blue, red, black and white pattern while females are dull brown or grey with a foliate leaf-like abdominal pattern. Juveniles and recently moulted spiders can be paler, smaller or weakly marked; a male with the flaps folded can look like an ordinary tiny ground jumper. Flash, angle, iridescent scales, wear and dust alter the apparent balance of red, orange, blue, white and black. World Spider Catalog records older Saitis pavonis as the original combination and places the species in the pavonis group; related Maratus species overlap in body plan and display. The four exact photographs linked on this page document particular M. pavonis individuals, including courtship and folded views, rather than a universal colour chart. Use the 4–5 mm body scale as context only and keep a female, juvenile or blurred adult at Maratus or Salticidae when species evidence is incomplete.

Behaviour, web and retreat

Common peacock spiders are free-ranging visual hunters. The Western Australian Museum describes them in bushland and domestic gardens, moving through low shrubs and leaf litter while taking small insects; they do not wait in an orb, sheet or tangle capture web. During courtship, a male waves the third legs, raises the abdomen and expands the short flaps into a miniature peacock-like display. A female may remain still, turn away or leave, so an ordinary hop or a raised abdomen is not proof of a particular species. Silk is still used for a retreat during moulting or while guarding egg sacs. That distinction matters: “no capture web” is supporting context, not an absence of all silk. Photograph quietly from the side of the leaf or litter; do not tap, blow on or confine two spiders to force a dance.

Australian distribution

The World Spider Catalog accepts Maratus pavonis as an Australian salticid and lists it from Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. The Western Australian Museum describes records across southern Australia including Tasmania, while the Australian Faunal Directory and Atlas of Living Australia provide accepted-taxon and occurrence context. These state filters are discovery aids, not a location-based diagnosis: several Maratus species overlap in southern habitats, and a database point may be historical, uncertain or attached to an older name. Do not expand the range to South Australia, Queensland, the ACT or the Northern Territory merely because “southern Australia” appears in a general article. Retain the broad locality, season, habitat, sex, body length without legs and several views so a specialist can compare M. pavonis with coastal, eastern and other pavonis-group species.

What to do if you find one

Leave a Common peacock spider on its low plant, leaf litter or garden edge. A useful record includes a whole-body dorsal frame, a front or three-quarter view showing the eyes, a folded-fan or underside view only when it can be obtained without disturbance, and a wider habitat image. Place a ruler or coin beside the spider rather than underneath it. If a tiny jumper is indoors and must be moved, use a wide clear container and stiff card, keep fingers clear and release it into sheltered vegetation nearby. Do not dig out a retreat, tear open an egg shelter or stage a mating display. These spiders are not usually considered dangerous, but a guessed salticid name is not medical advice: wash a suspected bite, use a cold pack for local pain and seek medical help for severe or persistent pain, spreading symptoms, allergic signs, infection or uncertainty; call 000 for collapse or breathing difficulty.

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 fan, sex or locality is incomplete and the photograph supports only a genus-level peacock spider.
• Flying peacock spider — Flying peacock spider - Maratus volans can share eastern and south-eastern habitats and a vivid male display; compare the complete red-blue-black fan and locality rather than one bright patch.
• Coastal peacock spider — Coastal peacock spider - Maratus speciosus can overlap around southern and south-western coastal vegetation and has a striking male fan. Coastal setting and exact adult pattern matter more than the common name.
• Garden jumping spider — Garden jumping spider - common Opisthoncus and other salticids have the same large eyes, short hops and low-vegetation setting but do not supply the M. pavonis fan evidence.

Sources for this profile

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

• Australian Faunal Directory: Maratus pavonis
• World Spider Catalog: Maratus pavonis
• Atlas of Living Australia: Maratus pavonis
• Western Australian Museum: Meet the Common Peacock Spider
• Australian Museum: Jumping spiders
• Queensland Museum: New jumping-spider species
• Zootaxa: Queensland Museum Maratus revision
• Peckhamia: Australian peacock-spider catalogue
• Wikimedia Commons: Maratus pavonis courtship photograph
• Wikimedia Commons: Maratus pavonis second courtship photograph
• Wikimedia Commons: Maratus pavonis field photograph
• healthdirect: Spider bites

Profile review

Published by Spider Identifier Australia. Last factual review: 14 August 2026.