Checklist of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of South Asia including the 2006 update of Indian spider checklist

Additions to the araneofauna of Andhra Pradesh, India - part II. Records of interesting species of the comb-footed genera Latrodectus, Rhomphaea and Coleosoma (Araneae: Theridiidae)

“…-Cambridge, 1896, is known from India based on a few specimens collected from Gujarat and Kerala (Patel 1973;Patel 2003a,b). Although, Patel (2003b) provides the nomen R. vansdaensis to specimens collected from Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala [possibly given to specimens collected by him in Vansda National Park, Gujarat (Patel 2003a)], we could not locate the full description of the said species, thus, like Siliwal et al (2005), Siliwal & Molur (2007) and Platnick (2013), we do not consider R. vansdaensis a valid species pending clarification on its taxonomic status.…”

“…In colonial times, two species -Latrodectus hasselti and Latrodectus geometricus were reported from British India basing on forms collected from the vicinity of the present day Karachi, Pakistan and Myanmar (Pocock 1900). Latrodectus hasselti had been till recently the only known widow spider occurring in India reported from Pune and Thane in Maharashtra, Vadodra in Gujarat, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Nannaj in Maharashtra (Daniel & Soman 1961;Tikader 1987;Siliwal & Kumar 2001;Kumar & Siliwal 2005;Siliwal & Molur 2007;Hippargi et al 2012). With a recent report of occurrence of Latrodectus geometricus from Pune, Maharashtra (Shukla & Gour-Broome 2007) and Latrodectus elegans from Thawai, Manipur (Kananbala et al 2012), two more species for this genus have been added to spider diversity in India.…”

Purification and Characterization of a Nonenzymatic Neurotoxin fromHippasa partita(Lycosidae) Spider Venom Gland Extract

“…The main purpose of the venom is to immobilize and to digest the prey. H. partita spider is endemic in hilly regions of the Western Ghats [4] and is commonly called "funnel web spider" which is mainly responsible for toxic bites. Severe edema and itching, acute pain, and hemorrhage following tissue necrosis are the general symptoms of envenomation, but there are no reports of mortality.…”

Occurrence of a huntsman spider Olios lamarcki Latreille, 1806 (Araneae: Araneomorphae: Sparassidae) from Nijhum dwip, Bangladesh

“…This genus, like other sparassids, is vernacularly known as Huntsman spider due to their wanderingstalking predation technique, and sometimes as Giant crab spider due to their size and appearance as well as for solitary, no-snare dependent nature (Isbister 2003, Foelix 2011. Of 246 species of this diverse tropical 'taxonomic trashbasket', three have been sighted from Bangladesh i.e., O. gravelyi Sethi and Tikader, 1988, O. hampsoni Pocock, 1901and O. durlaviae Biswas and Raychaudhuri, 2005 -the last one being endemic to the country (Siliwal and Molur 2006, Ahmed et al 2008, Platnick 2011. There was no record of O. lamarcki from Bangladesh till this finding, though it is among the 26 species of Olios documented from neighbouring India (Keswani et al 2012).…”

“…There are 18 species of spiders known to endemic among 50 recorded species; however, arachnology in Bangladesh is still in its sprouting stage (Siliwal and Molur 2006). Owing to the high rate of arachnid endemism, the discovery of O. lamarcki from the remote sandy-loamy island of Nijhum Dwip of the young lower Meghna estuary accounts the rich, still-to-be-described and little-studied invertebrate diversity of the country (Fig.…”