Several new species of peacock spider – just a few millimetres long and featuring extraordinary colours – have been discovered in Western Australia and South Australia. Jürgen Otto, a biologist from Sydney, has been researching the arachnids since 2005, and has gained a significant following online with his footage. He believes there are now 48 confirmed species of peacock spider within the Maratus genus, found across Australia but particularly in Western Australia – and many more awaiting confirmation. Here: Maratus Tasmanicus, one of seven new species of peacock spiders studied by the Sydney biologist Jürgen Otto. (Photo by Jürgen Otto)

Hot air balloons in flight over Melbourne, Australia on January 24, 2022. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A ring-tailed lemur sunbakes at Melbourne Zoo in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on December 21 2016. (Photo by Julian Smith/EPA)

Swimmer silhouetted in a waterslide in the coastal suburb of Glenelg, Adelaide, Australia on January 21, 2025. (Photo by Amer Ghazzal/Alamy Live News)

Elfyn Evans of Great Britain and Daniel Barritt of Great Britain compete in their M-Sport WRT Ford Fiesta RS WRC during Day One of the WRC Australia on September 11, 2015 in Coffs Harbour, Australia. (Photo by Massimo Bettiol/Getty Images)

A view of the Hazelwood Power Station across the cooling pondage at sunrise on March 21, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. The brown coal fueled power station, located in Latrobe Valley is the oldest in Victoria and provides the state nearly 25% of its energy. In 2005 Hazelwood was labeled Australia's least carbon efficient power station by WWF Australia and continues to be a target of issue of environmentalist groups. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)

A fan of Colombia wears a tiger costume prior to the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group H match between Germany and Colombia at Sydney Football Stadium on July 30, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

England's Rachel Daly is fouled by Colombia's Ana Guzman during the Women's World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between England and Colombia at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, August 12, 2023. (Photo by Rick Rycroft/AP Photo)