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moonvoiceFor the Unusuals deck. So this little guy (and I do mean little!) lives about two hours away from me. Probably closer to an hour and a half, like most of the world's Peacock Spiders actually. They're all small, easy to miss, and dance like Birds of Paradise for their partners.
I get to be biased and put some locals into my Unusuals deck, because hey, it's still an unusual animal - and certainly an unusual spider! - but look at that fuzzy wee cute face. So happy with how the fur texture came out on this one. I went back in with a white marker to bring out the details and I'm really happy with it.
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Coastal Peacock Spider || Maratus speciosus || Etsy || Wildspeak Animal Dictionary
Keywords:
Unexpected brilliance. Dance like you mean it. Having faith, taking leaps. Standing out from the crowd. Be brilliant, hide when you need to. Grounded glamour. Dancing. Learning complex skills out of love. Pushing to always improve. Delicacy. You are overlooking something special.
Description:
The coastal opal peacock spider (Maratus speciosus) is a member of the Maratus family of peacock spiders, which are largely found in Australia (with one species at the time of this writing found in China). They are known for being very small, and for the males having a very colourful upper abdomen used for elaborate courtship dances to woo females. These dances have been likened in complexity to those found in many birds of paradise, featuring different stages, as well as documentation of males practicing their dances when the female isn’t around.
The coastal opal peacock spider is found primarily on beaches and among vegetative sand dunes in Bunbury, Western Australia. They are most active in August, September and October, as that is when the males are seeking females to perform their courtship dances for. They have a distinctive iridescent blue, red and black upper abdomen with lateral flaps and bright orange bristles, these flaps can be extended, and the bristles shown during courtship. Their abdomen is raised and then ‘danced about’ to best show off the iridescence. Females are white-grey-brown, camouflaging well. They release pheromones to indicate when they’re receptive to mating. Females lay egg sacs in December in a nest, and will stay with the sac until they hatch.
Peacock spider dances include physical movements, but also vibrational signals. They have an extra long pair of decorated legs which assist in the dancing movements. Their iridescence, particularly the blue shades, use nanostructures not seen in any other animal. The blues in the coastal opal peacock spider do not fade over time. They are able to see in red, blue, green and ultraviolet. It is thought that their long legs assist with avoiding predation by females. Males have been known to dance for up to fifty minutes for a female. They can also be aggressive in courtship, and will even pursue uninterested and pregnant females, and even females of different species.
Like most jumping spiders, peacock spiders do not make webs to hunt, instead actively searching their prey of flies, moths, winged ants, grasshoppers and other insects. They can take down prey four to five times their own size. They can also jump twenty times their size. They are predated upon by many other animals, though their ability to jump helps them escape quickly. They live primarily solitary lives until breeding season.
I get to be biased and put some locals into my Unusuals deck, because hey, it's still an unusual animal - and certainly an unusual spider! - but look at that fuzzy wee cute face. So happy with how the fur texture came out on this one. I went back in with a white marker to bring out the details and I'm really happy with it.
*
Coastal Peacock Spider || Maratus speciosus || Etsy || Wildspeak Animal Dictionary
Keywords:
Unexpected brilliance. Dance like you mean it. Having faith, taking leaps. Standing out from the crowd. Be brilliant, hide when you need to. Grounded glamour. Dancing. Learning complex skills out of love. Pushing to always improve. Delicacy. You are overlooking something special.
Description:
The coastal opal peacock spider (Maratus speciosus) is a member of the Maratus family of peacock spiders, which are largely found in Australia (with one species at the time of this writing found in China). They are known for being very small, and for the males having a very colourful upper abdomen used for elaborate courtship dances to woo females. These dances have been likened in complexity to those found in many birds of paradise, featuring different stages, as well as documentation of males practicing their dances when the female isn’t around.
The coastal opal peacock spider is found primarily on beaches and among vegetative sand dunes in Bunbury, Western Australia. They are most active in August, September and October, as that is when the males are seeking females to perform their courtship dances for. They have a distinctive iridescent blue, red and black upper abdomen with lateral flaps and bright orange bristles, these flaps can be extended, and the bristles shown during courtship. Their abdomen is raised and then ‘danced about’ to best show off the iridescence. Females are white-grey-brown, camouflaging well. They release pheromones to indicate when they’re receptive to mating. Females lay egg sacs in December in a nest, and will stay with the sac until they hatch.
Peacock spider dances include physical movements, but also vibrational signals. They have an extra long pair of decorated legs which assist in the dancing movements. Their iridescence, particularly the blue shades, use nanostructures not seen in any other animal. The blues in the coastal opal peacock spider do not fade over time. They are able to see in red, blue, green and ultraviolet. It is thought that their long legs assist with avoiding predation by females. Males have been known to dance for up to fifty minutes for a female. They can also be aggressive in courtship, and will even pursue uninterested and pregnant females, and even females of different species.
Like most jumping spiders, peacock spiders do not make webs to hunt, instead actively searching their prey of flies, moths, winged ants, grasshoppers and other insects. They can take down prey four to five times their own size. They can also jump twenty times their size. They are predated upon by many other animals, though their ability to jump helps them escape quickly. They live primarily solitary lives until breeding season.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-30 10:17 am (UTC)You can see the fierce bird face on this pic!
no subject
Date: 2021-01-30 10:28 am (UTC)Ooo actually it's not! (Though that is a lovely photo). This is not convergent evolution, since the peacock spider only shows it's beautiful back like this during mating dances which are similar to those of birds of paradise. It's back is often semi-covered otherwise by the hairs erected in the illustration, and is not used defensively at all. The pattern in its glory is exclusively for its mating dance for females, in the same way that birds of paradise males have excessive feathering for the females only.
Not only that, but all peacock spiders have different backs, so while I can see why you thought they were false eyes; in this case they're not. They definitely privileged wooing the female over defensive protection. You can see other patterns at this account on Instagram. Like this one. It's just one of the many many patterns that peacock spiders develop, that only their female partners ever get to properly see in all their glory (and sometimes other males that are stepping on their toes, lol).
no subject
Date: 2021-01-30 01:23 pm (UTC)This one actually sat still for me which they don't often do.
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Date: 2021-01-30 04:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-23 10:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-05-08 05:26 pm (UTC)