New spider species discovered from Western Ghats

A team that included researchers from Kerala University has discovered a new spider species from the Western Ghats.

The group which comprised Asima A. of the Zoology Department along with its Head, G. Prasad, and John T.D. Caleb of Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, discovered Thiania indica, that belongs to the Thiania C.L. Koch genus of jumping spider (that constitute the family Salticidae), during an expedition to Kulathupuzha in the Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary in December 2021.

The findings have been published in the March 2023 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Arachnology brought out by the British Arachnological Society.

According to the researchers, both the males and the females of the species exhibited reddish brown carapace. However, while the males display four patches of white hairs on their grew-yellow abdomen, the females have a wide transverse black band anteriorly and posteriorly on their creamy yellow abdomen.

Only one species, viz., Thiania bhamoensis, that belongs to the genus has been previously recorded in India. The particular species has been distributed across China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Indonesia.

The researchers pointed out that many biodiverse regions of the Western Ghats remain either unexplored or poorly surveyed for arachnids. They called for greater focus in hotspots such as Western Ghats and Indo-Burma regions where more hitherto undiscovered species are expected.