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A cute species of peacock spider has been named after Nemo, the beloved clownfish in Pixar’s Finding Nemo franchise.
Maratus nemo, which is only the size of a grain of rice just over 4mm in length, was discovered by a citizen scientist in South Australia.
The new species was named for its iridescent orange and white stripes, which scientists say are used to attract a mate during courtship.
Peacock spiders belong to the genus Maratus, which has grown in importance over the past decade due to the male’s vibrant colors and “ dancing ” displays.
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A new species of peacock spider, Maratus nemo, is described in the vicinity of Mount McIntyre and Nangwarry, South Australia (male pictured here)
Maratus nemo is described in a new article published in Evolutionary Systematics, written by Joseph Schubert, avid Australian spider.
“ He has a really vibrant orange face with white stripes on it, which looks like a clownfish, so I thought Nemo would be a really appropriate name for that, ” said Schubert, a 23-year-old arachnologist at the Museums. Victoria.
“Strangely enough, Maratus nemo has been found in a complex of ephemeral wetlands on swampy vegetation in shallow water.
“No other species of Maratus is known to occupy such habitats.”
The tiny peacock spiders, or Maratus spiders, are native to Australia and are internet sensations for their elaborate parade dances.
During the species’ unique “dancing” courtship display, the male elevates one leg, slowly waving it in a partially flexed position.
As the female approaches, the male gets up and wiggles both legs more quickly.
Maratus nemo was discovered by Sheryl Holliday, a citizen scientist from South Australia and an ecological field worker for Nature Glenelg Trust.
The species appears to be quite widespread, according to Holliday.
“I saw about 40 individuals all in three different places … I’m sure there would be more in the south-east of South Australia and in western Victoria as well,” he said. she declared.
The name of the species is inspired by the clownfish Nemo (pictured, left with his father Marlin), the main character in the 2003 Pixar film Finding Nemo, which memorably depicts Australian marine life in CGI
Holliday hand-collected five specimens of Maratus nemo – four males and one female – from Mount McIntyre and Nangwarry, South Australia, in November 2020.
She knew this spider was something different from the moment she found it, but she couldn’t identify spiders as a particular species.
“ He had a solid back, but his orange-red face is what stood out and I had never seen anything like it before, so I knew it had to be a new one, ” she said.
Holliday posted photos on the Australian Jumping Spiders Peacock Appreciation page in the hopes that someone would be able to identify them – and the photos caught Schubert’s attention.
“ I met them and I was like, ‘Oh, wow, looks like maybe this is a new species,’ so I got in touch with her and she ended up sending me some specimens, ” Schubert said.
Male Maratus nemo. Schubert says in his article: “ The new species appears to inhabit ephemeral wetland complexes on shallow water swamp vegetation ”
Holliday hand-collected five specimens of Maratus nemo – four males and one female – from Mount McIntyre and Nangwarry, South Australia
“ I received the specimens in the mail, then took a whole bunch of photos of them while they were alive and documented the male’s courtship display.
“I kept them in ethanol and took them back to the lab and studied the characteristics that made them different from other spiders.
“Usually the behavior will be different between each species although we use other characteristics like male models to determine different species from each other.
To date, there are now 92 species of peacock spiders – up from just 15 in 2011.
“ I described 13 species of peacock spiders and five species of their cousins Jotus, which is another genus of jumping spider, ” said Schubert, who found his first peacock spider in 2016.
Seven of these new peacock spiders arrived in 2020 alone.
Last year, Schubert reported the discovery of a peacock spider resembling the famous painting “ Starry Night ” by Vincent van Gogh, in Little Desert National Park in Victoria.
A spider that resembles the famous painting “ Starry Night ” by Vincent van Gogh has been discovered in Australia. This male, named Maratus constellatus, is no more than four millimeters in length and has been spotted in Little Desert National Park
Pictured is Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting ‘Starry Night’, which inspired the name Maratus constellatus, reported in 2020
“ I think Peacock spiders have caught the public’s attention just because they’re really, really cute for spiders – they have those huge forward-looking eyes and you can relate to them a lot more. than to a hunter for example, ‘he said.
Hunters are generally associated with Australia, but their range also spans much of Asia, Africa, and South America.
Most hunter spiders do not build webs to capture their prey, but rather hunt and forage for food, up to about 3 feet per second.
They can be found inside people’s homes, crawling over walls and scurrying across the floor, and are large enough to give people a shock.
Australian spiders usually have a bad reputation – in the photo it is the giant hunter spider (Heteropoda maxima, photo), which can grow up to 30 cm.
Although they can bite, hunters are not considered dangerous to humans – and some Australians don’t bother them around the house because they eat pests like cockroaches.
“ I was terrified of spiders and admit I would probably still be a little scared if I ran into a Huntsman or something by surprise, but I can really rationalize it now, ” Schubert said.
The expert said fire, pesticides and habitat loss are currently major threats to many Australian animals, including the peacock spider.
“Only about 30% of Australia’s biodiversity has been officially scientifically documented, which means we could lose species before we even know they exist,” Schubert said.
“Taxonomy allows us to have a basic understanding of our biodiversity”.
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