“Spring is here and it’s that time of year where these amazingly bright and colourful little jumping spiders are out and about looking for a mate in our district,” he said.
“The Maratus species are only found here in Australia and put on the most amazingly flamboyant displays of mating you’ve ever seen.
“A recent visit by the not-for-profit group, Project Maratus, made up of scientists from Western Sydney University and citizen scientists across the country, saw them here in the Rockingham area as part of their study.
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READ NOW“They are specialising in the study of the Maratus species nationwide and saw 18 species found from Lancelin to Esperance here in WA, with one definite and a possible second new species discovered during their two-week study.
“Here in the Rockingham area I have personally located and confirmed at least five species.
“The smallest in the area, Maratus Spicatus, is only 3mm long and most commonly the rest are around the 4-5mm size.”