#skeletorus

SKELETORUS
(Maratus sceletus)

Otto, J. 2014. “_X8A4689 peacock spider Maratus sceletus”

During the trip to southeast Queensland, Australia, taken by the University of California (Berkeley) grad student and a friend, the brilliant sparklemuffin(Maratus jactatus) wasn’t the only new peacock spider they discovered (and subsequently shamed named), so allow me to present to you skeletorus! Given the name for the males’ eerily bonelike white-on-black markings, the almost entirely (save for the fetching flecks of blue on the abdomen) monochrome skeletorus is an anomaly among peacock spiders (Maratus), which were named for the males’ colourful patterning and courtship displays, resembling those of male peafowl.