Maratus harrisi

6 Harris's Peacock spider at Tennent, ACT

Maratus harrisi at Tennent, ACT - 18 Nov 2012
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Identification history

Maratus harrisi 4 Nov 2016 michaelb
Unidentified 29 Oct 2016 Harrisi

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Significant sighting

6 Nov 2016

This beautiful little spider was only described in 2011from a recent discovery by Stuart Harris in Namadgi. It along with Stuart are the stars of great documentary called Maratus a must watch for all Citizen Scientists. I can lend you the CD.

User's notes

Described 2011 (Otto, Hill, 2011) from specimen collected at Boroomba Rocks

6 comments

michaelb wrote:
   4 Nov 2016
Hi Stuart. Do you have a name for this species?
Harrisi wrote:
   4 Nov 2016
Hi Michael, I do, it is Maratus harrisi. For some reason the system is telling me the name already exists?
michaelb wrote:
   4 Nov 2016
Yes. Someone had created the name already, perhaps Michael Mulvaney or Murray Evans.
MattM wrote:
   4 Nov 2016
Are they a rare species, or are they just really small and hard to find?
Speedsta wrote:
   5 Nov 2016
What an amazing photo.
Harrisi wrote:
   6 Nov 2016
Few things: this species isn't rare though is extremely hard to find in the dense leaf litter it inhabits south of Canberra. It has actually now been found in NSW, VIC and TAS. The one I found at Omeo, VIC had a different pattern on its carapace and this trait (geographical variation) is common among other sp. of Maratus. As to the photograph itself, the collected specimen was photographed under tastic lights in my bathroom :) I intend to eventually upload all the species of Maratus that are known to the ACT, approx seven at last count? When M. harrisi was described in 2011 it was the eight sp. (endemic to) Australia and now the tally has steadily crept up to around 60! The best place to get a visual guide to most of these Maratus is to visit the Flickr site of Dr Jurgen Otto.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/59431731@N05/albums

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Location information

Sighting information

  • 1 Abundance
  • 18 Nov 2012 07:45 PM Recorded on
  • Harrisi Recorded by

Additional information

  • Less than 5mm Animal size

Species information

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  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
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