Maratus pinniger, a new species of peacock spider from southwest Western Australia

On 26 March 2022 Jurgen Otto and David Hill named and described a new peacock spider which a few months earlier, in October 2021, was discovered by Paul Winthrop in the southwest of Western Australia. The name that was chosen, Maratus pinniger, is a reference to feather-like setae the male has at the tip of the abdomen (pinniger, latin = feather-bearing) . Maratus pinniger has been assigned to the vespa group of species in which females watches the performance of the male from just a few millimetre distance and the males often alternate the sides on which they display their fan to the female. Based on current observations it is predicted that more species in this group will be found. The publication in which Maratus pinniger was described can be downloaded from Peckhamia