Studies on spiders of the genusZygeilla Cambridge from India (Araneae: Araneidae)

Abstract

The genus Zygeilla is being reported for the first time in India in this paper. Previously one species melanocrania was placed erroneously in the gents Araneus. But our examination has revealed that it should be placed in the genus Zygeilla. Gravely collected this species from Barkuda Island (Chilka Lake), Orissa and deposited in Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta. We have got another new species of this genus, namely Zygeilla indica, which is described and illustrated in this paper.

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

“…Comments: Genera Leucauge and Meta were originally placed in the family Tetragnathidae which is followed by Platnick (2006) and this paper, Tikader (1987) placed it in the family Araneidae without any explanation.…”

“…Genus Cryptothele L. Koch, 1872 Comments: This genus was previously considered in the family Zodariidae by Tikader (1987). Davies (1985) and Jocqué (1986a, b) placed it in the family Cryptothelidae.…”

First record of Macracantha arcuata Fabricius, 1793 (Araneae: Araneidae) from Assam, India

“…In India, Macracantha arcuata is reported from Shillong in Meghalaya and Sikkim (Tikader, 1982;Biswas & Majumder, 1995, Platnick, 2004 Fabricius, 1793 (Tetragnathidae) along the entire stretch of 2.5 kms from the railway crossing (Ranger's Office) to the Gibbon pool. This tropical wet evergreen forest famous for the Western Hoolock Gibbon Bunopithecus hoolock hoolock, is home to Macracantha arcuata.…”

“…Although the photographs were not very good, the spider was still identified using available descriptions from literature such as Pocock (1900), andTikader (1982), and from a photograph published by Koh (1996). Unique characteristics differentiate this species from other closely related and similar looking Gasteracantha species; in that the median spine is more than three times the width of the abdomen.…”

“…Unique characteristics differentiate this species from other closely related and similar looking Gasteracantha species; in that the median spine is more than three times the width of the abdomen. The description provided by Tikader (1982) indicates the colour of the abdomen of the preserved specimen as being brown, while the colour photograph of a live specimen from Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Singapore shown in Koh (1996) clearly shows the colour to be red. The individuals we saw were deep red with all other morphological characters such as the number and shape of sigilla, spines and other characteristics on both dorsal and ventral side matching.…”