Maratus mungaich explained

Maratus mungaich, the banksia peacock spider, is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is endemic to Western Australia.^[1]

The species was first described in 1995 by Julianne Waldock. In 2013 she described a species-group for Maratus mungaich. In 2014 Waldock identified Maratus hortorum which had until then been identified as M.mungaich.^[2]

In courtship, males in the Maratus genus extend their elongated third legs,^[3] and only the male is so brightly and beautifully coloured.

Etymology

The specific epithet, mungaich, derives from a Nyoongar word for "banksia" (mangatch).^{[4] [5]}

External links

• Maratus mungaich occurrence data records from OZCAM

Notes and References

1. https://wsc.nmbe.ch/species/30564 WSC Salticidae:Maratus mungaich(Dunn, 1947), World Spider Catalog (WSC)
2. Web site: Waldock . Julianne . Two new species of peacock spider of the Maratus mungaich species-group (Araneae: Salticidae) from south-western Australia . Museum.wa.gov.au . Western Australian Museum . 22 June 2022.
3. Hill, D.E. (2009) Euophryine jumping spiders that extend their third legs during courtship (Araneae: Salticidae: Euophryinae: Maratus, Saitis). Peckhamia 74.1:1-27. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
4. Whitehurst, R. (1997) Noongar Dictionary Noongar to English and English to Noongar (2nd Ed) Retrieved 9 August 2019.
5. Douglas, W. (1996) Illustrated dictionary of the South-West Aboriginal language Retrieved 9 August 2019.