An Assistant Professor from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi has discovered new trapdoor spider species in a deciduous forest near Nilagiri town in Odisha during field surveys this year.
- According to the Journal of Asia Pacific Biodiversity in which the study was published, Sanjay Keshari Das found the ‘Idiops nilagiri’ on a roadside cut in a forest during a field survey to document spider diversity in Kuldhia Wildlife Sanctuary.
About Idiops nilagiri
- This new mygalomorph species has been described based on female specimens and named ‘Idiops nilagiri’ after Nilagiri town, from where the spider was recorded.
- The new species comes under family Idiopidae representing front-eyed trapdoors.
- Females live in tubular burrows with their walls lined by silk and have a cork-shape lid at the entrance used as a door. Males are smaller in size, wandering and occasionally living in burrows, particularly during the breeding season.
- This is a medium-size spider that measures about 8-13 mm in length.
Global Spider Count
- With this new discovery, the number of the members of the genus Idiops goes up to 95 species worldwide, of which 12 are from India.
- With this discovery, global spider count has reached 48,277 and Indian spider count to 1,910 species, of which 263 species are recorded from Odisha.
- Among Indian spiders, only 116 species belonging to 33 genera and 8 families are mygalomorph spiders.
