Peacock Spider

I think it was 2009 or 2010 when a photograph of a beautifully iridescent peacock spider male appeared on flickr. It was unidentified or unnamed species, and it was found on Ellen Peak, one of the two highest points in the Western Australian Stirling Ranges.  With its iridescent bands across the abdomen, which shimmered in a range of colours from blue to golden, it was an absolute stunner and now that I had found all known peacock spiders in Eastern Australia, this was the next species I wanted to document. 

I made some enquires about the photograph and learned that the specimen was collected in November 2007. Ellen Peak was rather difficult to get to, but apparently another peak in the Stirling Ranges, Bluff Knoll, had similar habitat and therefore was worth a look. I had never been to the southwest of Western Australia, and had heard it was a wonderful place to visit, in particular the Stirling Ranges, a known biodiversity hotspot with many endemic species of plants and animals. Even if I my search for the peacock spider was fruitless, the trip would have been at the very least a nice holiday.

From Sydney to Perth its around 4000 km. If you travel by car you are in for at least 8 days of solid driving, including the return trip. Years earlier I would have shuddered at the prospect of flying across the continent, I was completely terrified of flying. However, while living in Townsville, I had been able to conquer my fear to some extent, by becoming a pilot myself. Now, even though flying in a large jet was still not my preferred mode of transport, it was something I could at least put up with for the sake of seeing a nice new peacock spider.  I booked a plane ticket, hoping the weather would be kind with me and the turbulence not too bad.

I set aside two whole weeks for the adventure. The caravan park in the Stirling Ranges, where I wanted to stay, was fully booked, peak season, but there was one old onsite caravan still available and it was cheap, so I grabbed it while I could. I arrived in Perth on 25 September, around midday and picked up a small hire care. I severely underestimated the time it took to drive to the Stirlings and learned the hard way that the shortest way wasn’t necessarily the quickest. It was already pitch black when I found myself still negotiating dirt roads with kangaroos crossing every couple of minutes, very stressful. I arrived in the park very late and exhausted. Everyone was already sound asleep but the manager thankfully woke up and he showed me to the van. 

Even though the walk to Bluff Knoll from the car park is only about 3 km one way, the path climbs steadily for about 618 m until it reaches the top at 1099 m, so it is a fair hike. The round trip takes about 4-5 hrs, and this is without looking for spiders. Of course I was looking all the way, which slowed me down considerably. It wasn’t until I got close to the top that I was rewarded for my efforts. An area with some flat rocks and small shrubs, with lots of dry twigs, finally delivered what I had come to see. I was triumphant, the flight, the drive, everything was paying off, and as a bonus I had found it on the first day !

This spider was surprisingly large, much larger than Maratus volans, Maratus splendens or Maratus vespertilio.  Even though its body is only 1 mm longer than that of Maratus volans and perhaps 2 mm longer than Maratus splendens, this small difference in length results in a surprisingly large difference in body mass and hence in appearance. I collected some males and females before it got dark and headed back to the camp site, where I adjusted the furniture and transformed the van quickly into a makeshift film studio. Even under these very improvised conditions, the males performed as if on cue and I got to see their stunning fully expanded flaps. There are two great moments associated with any peacock spider hunt. The first is when you find a new species or one that you had been looking for, but the second and perhaps more exciting one is when you can see or photograph their expanded flaps for the first time.  This moment had arrived, finally the male’s complete colour patterns were revealed. 

Now the weather turned against me. Bluff Knoll was continuously covered in cloud, not surprising giving the elevation. This, however, provided an opportunity to drive up to Perth for a day to meet with Julianne Waldock. Julianne had been studying peacock spiders for several years and now she introduced me to one of the species she had discovered and named Maratus mungaich. It was a delightful day and I enjoyed Julianne’s company. I also checked out Two People’s Bay National Park near Albany from where Julianne had described the species Maratus linnaei. I was happy I could now add both of these species to my peacock spider collection and document their courtship behaviour for the first time. David Hill and I later published our observations on these spiders in Peckhamia 96.1, Peckhamia 101.1 , Peckhamia 112.1 and Peckhamia 152.1 and you can find my videos about them as Peacock spider 6 and Peacock Spider 8.

When the weather improved it was time to head back to Bluff Knoll. It is the combination of a very colourful peacock spider and this breathtaking environment that made this project so appealing to me. Standing on Bluff Knoll, nothing impedes your views, stunning vistas all around. Looking on satellite images it is easy to see why the Stirling Ranges are so special, an island of natural vegetation left in an otherwise cleared landscape.  I could have photographed the spider in captivity, all in the caravan, but I wanted to make use of this unique landscape, get some footage of the spider in its natural habitat, and show off both, not only the spider but also its environment.

I left the caravan park in the dark, about 5 am, the earlier the better I thought when everyone was still fast asleep. However, when I arrived at the summit, it became clear that I could have as well slept for another 4 hours or so. Everything was still covered in thick fog, and it was bitterly cold. For several hours I shivered and wished I had brought at least a few extra layers or a stove to make a cup of tea, but I simply had to grit my teeth, sit and wait. 

Eventually the fog cleared, and as soon the first few rays of sunshine appeared, so did the spiders. The rest of the day was brilliant, I photographed and filmed all day, and occasionally chatted to people who came by. People always want to know what I am doing, but from experience giving in to their questioning isn’t always  the smartest thing to do. It can easily turn into a lengthy conversation, and I had work to do, I didn’t come all that way to talk. I had figured out what do in such instances. If I felt like I had the time for a conversation, I told them about peacock spiders, about my photography, and that never failed to excite anyone. Sometimes it even attracted more people, who were now of course interested to know what we were talking about, and then I was surrounded by a group. However, if I wasn’t keen on chit chat, I simply said I was looking for spiders. “Plenty of them here” was the usual response, and off they went on their merry way. It worked like a charm. 

I did more photography in the caravan in the following days. The staff in the van park knew me well by now and I had become somewhat of a park celebrity. Until then they hadn’t heard about peacock spiders, people usually came here for wildflowers. The fact that there was now also a special spider added to the attraction of the Stirlings and also of their park. I had told them that I was letting spiders loose in the van but I promised they would all be gone when I left. The other park guests must have also been curious about all the constant flashing that could be seen through the windows, until late at night. 

When the 2 weeks were up, I was glad I had accomplished everything, more even than I had expected. I returned the caravan to its original condition, packed up, drove to Perth and flew back home. In my luggage were several live specimens of this new species, accompanied by the required export permit.  I planned to continue photographing and filming them at home, before finally preserving them in ethanol so they could be scientifically named and described. Working with such a large spider was very enjoyable, finally something of a decent size !  You can see the results of my filming on YouTube in the form of two videos. One of these, Peacock Spider 5, shows the spider moving at normal speed, and here you also see its environment and Bluff Knoll in clouds. In the other one, Peacock Spider 4, the spider’s movements are slowed down to show its unusual leg flexibility which results in an almost ballet-like performance. See for yourself. 

I kept corresponding with Julianne Waldock regarding this spider. Surprisingly she kept referring to it as Maratus mungaich, but this was not an identification David Hill and I could agree with. There were clear and obvious differences between Maratus mungaich and this spider from Bluff Knoll. We decided that the most useful thing we could do was to clearly document both species and the difference between them, and in a logical next step to name it. We went ahead, producing a very detailed description of both species, with numerous photographs of males and females, their genitalia, all the variations we noticed in their ornamentation, and a precise account of their courtship display. I was looking forward to giving this spider a name now, we had invested so much time and effort into this project. However, as we were about to publish our paper there was a hiccup. We were told that Julianne Waldock wanted to name this new species and we were being asked in effect not to describe it.

This was disappointing of course. What we produced was a very detailed species description by any standard, accompanied by excellent photographs. A species description from which absolutely nothing was missing and which was ready to be published at the press of a button. All the work was done and naming it now was the logical thing to do, it is hard to understand why anybody would want to object. However, maintaining a good relationship was more important to us. We therefore decided to publish our paper without officially naming this new species. We replaced our chosen species name with “Maratus sp. A” and deleted reference to any type specimens. This allowed Julianne Waldock to name this spider Maratus sarahae, one year later. The work we invested though was not in vain. Our description of the spider as “Maratus sp. A” is still the most detailed and remains a valuable contribution to science. We republished it later in Peckhamia 112.1 in the context of another species description, now using the name Maratus sarahae. In the end, who named it really doesn’t matter, perhaps an important lesson to learn, for everyone. 

Maratus sarahae is still known only from Bluff Knoll and Ellen Peak and given that the same environment and climate occurs nowhere else in Western Australia, it is very likely that this species is indeed restricted to those two peaks. In a warming climate it has nowhere else to go, it can’t migrate higher and there are no other peaks this high and cool in southwestern Western Australia. Maratus sarahae will most likely become the first known peacock spider victim of global warming, particularly since bush fires have become increasingly frequent and devasting there in recent years. I seriously wonder whether my photographs and videos of this spider, taken only to document this spider and its behaviour, will soon become an important record of an extinct species, similar perhaps to the footage of the last living thylacine.