Diversity and Distribution of the Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from Kailashahar: First Record of Nine Species from Tripura, India

Spiders are one of the most diverse and numerically abundant arthropods. They have a wide distribution and inhabit different types of habitats. Their occurrence and distribution function as a bio-indicator of that area and their presence is influenced greatly by the corresponding habitat and vegetation types. In this study the spider fauna was surveyed from November 2019 to October 2020 in three locations of Kailashahar, Tripura, India. A total of thirty-two species belonging to thirteen families and eighteen genera were identified. Among them nine species are reported for the first time in Tripura, India – Neogeo nocticolor, Tetragnatha mandibulata, Tetragnatha javana, Enoplognatha sp., Oxytate sp., Carrhotus viduus, Thalassius albocinctus, Scytodes fusca and Mimetus sp. The highest numerically abundant spider recorded is Oxyopes scalaris and the least abundant species is Opadometa fastigata in the study area. The present study thoroughly investigated the unexplored spider species distributed over the study area and highlights the richness of spider diversity while calling for greater conservation of forest areas. Further rigorous works are necessary to discover more new spider species from this unexplored state of northeast India.