ZSI team discovers 2 new spider species in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu

Researchers of Zoological Survey of India have found two new species of leaping spiders from southern India.
| Photo Credit: Rao G N/The Hindu

Researchers of Zoological Survey of India have found two new species of leaping spiders from southern India, an announcement issued by the surveyor mentioned on Monday.

The two discoveries embody Phintella dhritiae from Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka and Phintella platnicki from Salem district of Tamil Nadu.

Phintella dhritiae has been named in honour of Dr Dhriti Banerjee, the primary girl director of the ZSI, the assertion mentioned.

Banerjee had taken over because the director of the more-than-100-year-old establishment in August 2021.

Phintella platnicki has additionally been named in honour of late Dr Norman Platnick for his contribution to the sphere of arachnology, it mentioned.

Arachnology is the scientific research of arachnids, which comprise spiders and associated invertebrates akin to scorpions and pseudoscorpions.

The newly described species, which belong to the genus Phintella, are small-to-medium sized, vibrant spiders, often coated with metallic iridescent scales, the assertion mentioned.

The head is considerably rounded or oval, comparatively excessive with a definite posterior slope, whereas the stomach is ovoid or elongate, often with pale and darkish horizontal bands.

Members of this genus typically inhabit beneath leaves and barks of shrubs and grasses, the ZSI assertion mentioned.

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Before the invention of those new species of leaping spiders, 12 species of Phintella had been recognized to be legitimate from India.

The explorer team comprised Souvik Sen and Sudhin P P, from ZSI, Kolkata and John T D Caleb from Chennai.

The discovery of those new species got here up in the March 2023 subject of Arthropoda Selecta, a prestigious journal.

Earlier this yr, the team described one other two new leaping spiders – Stenaelurillus megamalai and Stenaelurillus neyyar – from the Western Ghats area.