Tasmanian Peacock Spider Identification in Australia

About the Tasmanian peacock spider

Tasmanian peacock spiders are very small Maratus jumping spiders most useful to compare when a tiny, colourful or patterned spider is found in Tasmania or Victoria. Like other peacock spiders, they do not build a capture web; males are recognised by bright display colours and short, alert jumping-spider movement.

Exact-species hero photograph: Maratus tasmanicus by Shane Walker, CC BY 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 Tasmanian peacock spider without overcalling Maratus tasmanicus

Maratus tasmanicus Otto & Hill, 2013 is an accepted Salticidae species in the World Spider Catalog and Australian Faunal Directory, with the current catalogued distribution in Victoria and Tasmania. The original description diagnoses adult males by a striped ocular area with a red-orange median stripe, bright white legs I and II with orange rings, a dorsal abdomen with three orange to red-orange stripes on an iridescent blue-green field, and large black spots on the lateral flaps. A tiny jumping-spider build, large forward-facing eyes, short legs except for the longer third pair and a folded fan support the comparison, but a normal photograph of a female or immature spider often cannot establish the species. Keep a genus-level Maratus or Salticidae result when the display pattern, adult sex or specialist characters are not clear.

Clues that are not enough on their own

• A red, orange, blue, white or black patch alone; many Maratus males and other salticids share bright scales.
• A tiny body or large forward eyes without a clear adult pattern; size and family characters overlap across jumping spiders.
• A Tasmania or Victoria locality by itself; several Maratus and Jotus occur there.
• A male waving legs or raising the abdomen without the species pattern; courtship is a genus-level clue, not a safe species test.
• A female or juvenile that lacks the adult fan; sex and life stage can erase the most conspicuous markings.

Colour, sex and life-stage variation

The type males measured 4.39–5.10 mm in body length and the described females 5.24–5.62 mm. Adult males carry the vivid striped blue-green, orange-red and black-flap pattern; colour can look dull green, purple or less saturated as iridescent scales change with angle, light and wear. Females are brown, black and white or pale patterned rather than fan-coloured, and individuals vary in the extent of white and dark markings. Immature males can show bold longitudinal stripes and ringed legs before developing adult colour and flaps. Body length is useful for scale, not a standalone species test.

Behaviour, web and retreat

Like other Maratus, this is a free-ranging jumping spider rather than a capture-web builder. The described male courtship raises and waves the long third legs, elevates the abdomen and opens the lateral flaps as a fan, with rapid leg, pedipalp and abdomen vibrations while facing a female. A female may rear the abdomen in a warning display, and the original account records a female feeding on a winged insect. Display behaviour is valuable context but should not be staged or used to force a response; a still female, juvenile or non-displaying male will lack the most recognisable colour clues.

Australian distribution

Use Tasmania and Victoria as the conservative state filters because the World Spider Catalog gives the current distribution as Australia (Victoria, Tasmania). The type series came from Stanley in north-west Tasmania, with an additional Tasmanian record from Anson’s Bay; later comparative material and photographs include southern Victoria. A state match supports a possibility, not a species determination: other Maratus, Jotus and small salticids occur in the same leaf litter and low vegetation. Do not extend this page to Western Australia from an old photograph or from the broad Australian range of the genus.

What to do if you find one

Photograph from above and the side without touching, moving or enclosing the spider. A close crop of the eyes, carapace, abdomen and any display fan is more useful than a hand-held scale; include the plant or leaf litter and broad locality. Do not coax a male into a dance, disturb a retreat or place fingers near a tiny spider. Wear closed shoes and gloves for gardening. If a bite is suspected, wash the area, use a wrapped cold pack and follow healthdirect guidance; call 000 for collapse, breathing difficulty or severe allergic symptoms.

Compare with similar spiders

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

• Peacock spider — Common peacock spider (Maratus pavonis) – a widespread southern Australian Maratus with a different male fan pattern; compare the full dorsal design and locality rather than colour alone.
• Common peacock spider — Peacock spider – the broad genus route is safer when a tiny jumping spider has the right eyes and movement but no diagnostic adult pattern.
• Nemo peacock spider — Nemo peacock spider – a South Australian wetland species with a distinct orange-and-white male face; locality and the full male pattern matter.
• Eastern peacock spider — Eastern peacock spider – a Victorian Maratus profile that may overlap the state filter; do not treat a Victorian record as proof of M. tasmanicus.

Sources for this profile

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

• Australian Faunal Directory: Maratus tasmanicus
• Atlas of Living Australia: Maratus tasmanicus
• World Spider Catalog: Maratus tasmanicus
• Otto & Hill 2013: Three new Maratus from Australia
• Otto & Hill 2019: Maratus tasmanicus group review
• Australian Museum: Jumping spiders
• Australian jumping-spider key: Maratus
• Wikimedia Commons: Maratus tasmanicus photograph
• healthdirect: Spider bites

Profile review

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