Peacock spider
The peacock spider is a tiny jumping spider from Australia, only about 5 millimetres long. The male has a bright red, blue and black flap on his back. To impress a female, he lifts it up like a peacock's tail and does a little dance.
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Fun facts
Its eyes can see all the colours we see, and ultraviolet light too, which we cannot see.
While he dances, the male waves a pair of hairy legs with white tips and even claps them together.
A dance usually lasts about 24 minutes, but it can go on for up to 50 minutes.
He also shakes his body to send buzzing signals. Scientists named them rumble-rumps, crunch rolls and grind-revs.
Females are plain brown. If she does not like the dance, the male had better jump away fast.
Most asked questions about Peacock spider
?Why is it called a peacock spider?
The male lifts a colourful flap on his back and shows it off, just like a peacock spreads its tail.
?How big is a peacock spider?
About 5 millimetres long, smaller than a grain of rice.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Maratus volans
- Group
- Spiders
- Family
- Salticidae
- Classification
- Arachnida > Araneae > Salticidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Maratus volans (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Jürgen Otto. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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