They have a specialized visual system that allows them to see the full visible spectrum as well as in the ultraviolet-range; this helps them detect and pursue prey.

The third pair of legs is also raised for display, showing a brush of black hairs and white tips.

[4][5] An important part of the male peacock spider's courtship is the vibrations that accompany the fan dance.

[7] Males who put forth more effort in both the visual display and the vibratory signaling had a higher success in mating.

Having a higher measured effort meant putting in more time engaged in the visual display or vibrating with more vigor.

For females who do choose to mate with the male, copulation time is also positively correlated to visual displays and vibratory signaling.

Other aspects that are important include persistence, staying within proximity of the female and maintaining constant visual contact with her.

[4] If the male continues his dance when the female is not interested, she attempts to attack, kill, and feed on him; she may also do this after mating (sexual cannibalism).

[11] During the courtship display the male will slowly approach the female, as he lowers his carapace almost to the ground[7] until they are about one body length apart.

These pheromones, which are released by the abdomen of the female spider, can trigger male courtship even in the absence of visual cues.

However, this development also facilitated a wandering lifestyle different from that of their sit-and-wait ancestors, enabling jumping spiders to roam and encounter many environments.

Keen eyesight has probably been useful for peacock spiders in navigating, inhabiting and exploiting new types of habitats, and undoubtedly set the stage for the evolution of complex visual signals.

They use their keen eyesight to stalk their prey and eventually chase and leap on their target to deliver a fatal bite.

The immature male peacock spiders lack an opisthosomal fan, a prominent white marginal band of the carapace, as well as specialization of the third legs.

The females are thought to mimic leaf scars on the dry twigs; however, they can be found in a wide variety of habitats such as sand dunes to grasslands.

[6] Peacock spiders each have eight eyes that are equipped with a telephoto lens, tiered retina, and ultraviolet-sensitive photoreceptor.

It was transferred to the genus Maratus by Marek Żabka in 1991,[18] noting that "it is difficult to describe adequately the great beauty of the colouring of this spider".

[19] The specific name volans means "flying" in Latin; O.P-Cambridge noted that the person who sent him the specimens from New South Wales had told him that he had seen the spiders "actually using [the flaps] as wings or supporters to sustain the length of their leaps.