Handbook Indian Spiders
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Spiders,. though ubQuitous, have re .. mained a. neglected group and aoout eighty five years agio a consolidated vo'ume on entire Arachnida was published by Pocock (1900) in the Fauna of British India. During the last 3,0 years, mainly through the work of the author. enormous amount of infor mation on Indian spiders has been gathered. The first (1980) and second volume (1982). and the third volume on scorpions ( 1983) were published by the author. The present Handbook on spiders deals wi,th and gives complete information about Arach nida and especially the spiders o,f India. Apart from systematic studi:es on spiders belonging to 43 families, the author has given a detailed general account of external and internal anatomy, characters of taxonomic importance, habitat, food and feeding habits and other phenomenon of their life. Keys of the families and list of higher categories, and other infor mations related to each family of spiders are given along with the orb weaving mechani,sm of spiders in the famity Araneidae ( == Argiopidae). It is earnesUy hoped that the present Handbook will provide a handy tool to speciali.sts, research students and naturalists in India and elsewhere · interested in the study of Indian Arach nida, especially the spiders. Front Cover : Typical Orb-weaving spider Argiope aemula (Walckenaer) on the web. Back Co,ver : Animals al.pana, Pea cock in the centre, then fishes and elephants at the outer circle. Cover theme and design by : Dr. B. K. Tikader. HANDBOOK INDIAN SPIDERS A Manual for the study of the Spiders and their relatives-The Scorpions, Pseudoscorpions, W'hip scorpions, Harvestmen and all members of the Class Arachnida found in India with analytical keys for their classmca tion and biology. By B. K. TIKADER Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta Edited by the Director ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, CALCU'ITA 1987 © Copyright, Government of India, 1987 Published : July 1987 Price: India: Irs. 190.00 Foreign: £ 28.00 $ 34.00 PRI~'TED IN INDIA AT NAVANA PRINTING 'YORKS P. LTD. 47, GA!Io.T£SH CHUNDER AVENUE, CALCUTTA-700 013 AND PUBLISHED BY THE DIRECTOR, zOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, CALCU'lTA FOREWORD One of the obJe,ctives of the Zoological Survey of ndia (ZSI) is to provide comprehensive systematic accounts on various groups of tbe Indian fauna. To achieve this objective, the, ZSI undertakes faunistic survey programmes and publishes the results in the form of research papers and reports under the s8,ries '''Fauna of India~', "The Handbooks" and "Technic,at M onographsn The present cont ibu tion on the spiders is the sixth in the series of "Handbooks" This is a very primitive group of animals which bas a role in the conservation of Nature. The present "Handbook" gives a comprehensive taxonomic ,a,cCQunt of 43 families and detailed general account of external and internal anatomy, characters of taxonomic importanc,e, habitat, food and feeding habits and other phenomenon of their life. Keys to the identification of f.amilies and list of higher cat,egories, and other infonnation related to each family of spiders is given along with orbweavingmechanism of spiders in the family Araneida'e (= Argiopidae). I congratulate the author for undertaking this work \vhich I am sure will prove useful to students and researchers in the ~eld of Ara,chnology both in India and abroad. I would also like to put on record my appreciation of Dr. B. K. 'Tikader (former Director, ZSI) for his dedication, devotion to duty and for In·tiating a number of pr~grammes on the Fauna of India as also in building p public a\vareness about wildlife con servation. T. N. Kboshoo (former Secretal'Y, Department of 'Environment) Distinguished Scientist (CSIR) New Delhi 110003. EDITOR'S PREFACE After independence the responsibility for publication of "Fauna of British India" was passed on from the Secretary of State for India (to the British Government) to the Government of India and consequently the Director, Zoological Survey of India \vas entrusted with the task of editing the series. In keeping with the changed political set up. after August, 1947, the title of the series was also changed as "Fauna of India" Spiders, though ubiquitous, have remained a neglected group and about eighty five years ago a consolidated volume on entire Arachnida was published by Pocock (1900) in the Fauna of British India. During last 30 years, mainly through the work of Dr. B. K. Tikader, former Director, Zoological Survey of India, enormous amount of information on Indian spiders has been gathered. The first (1980) and second volume on spiders (1982) and the third volume on scorpions (1983) were published by Dr. Tikader. The present Handbook on spiders deals with and gives complete information about Arachnida and especial ly the" spiders of India. This Handbook is the sixth volume in this series and seventh and eighth are in press. Assignments have been made to other specialists to write further volume on groups so far not covered or which require up-to-date information and these are expeqted to be published within a couple of years. It is my privilege that I am able to \vrite the preface to this popular series of publication of 'Handbook'. It is hoped that this illustrated book will serve as an important and handy tool to specialists, research students and naturalists in India and abroad interested in the faSCinating study of this primi tive animals which are very important for their role of biolo gical control of insects fauna of our country. B. S. LAMBA Joint Director-in-Charge, Zoological Survey of India, Zoolo1lical Survey of India Calcutta AUTHOR'S PREFACE The HANDBOOK OF SPIDERS will serve the needs of beginners and mature students of Arachnida, especially the spiders in India and elsewhere for the study of Indian spiders as well as spider fauna of the oriental regions. It brings to gether for the first time in a concise form the wealth of infor mation on the structure, habits and classification of the Indian arachnids, mainly spiders. It emphasizes the interest and keen enjoyment in store for all who study' these creatures. The need for this Handbook of Spiders is realised by the fact that there are at present more serious students and amateurs interested in spiders and this is unique in the history of Indian Arachnology. In the course of my systematic and ecological studies on Indian spiders, since last three decades, I felt the necessity of a Handbook of spiders for the benefit of amateurs as \vell as students of Arachnology for an easy understanding of Indian spiders and to create interest in this subject. The present handbook deals with the near relatives of spiders) of the other orders of the class Arachnida to which the spiders belong. A detailed account of morphology of spiders, characters of taxonomic importance, habitat, food and feeding habits and other phenomenon of their lives avd keys to the families are given. List of higher categories and detailed characters and other informations of each family of spiders are also given ,vith proper illustrations. The list of the species so far known from Indian subcontinent has been included for ready reference. At the end I have included all available references on Indian spiders and their relatives. It \vould be a great pleasure for me if this handbook serve the purpose to some extent and stimulate abundant interest among the spider lovers and be used as a stepping stone for the future advancement in arachnology in India. "URNAN ABHAH B. K. TIKADER Salt Lake City, CI-B5, Sector-II, CALCUTTA-700 091 Dol ~Urnima, 15th March, 1987. CONTENTS Pages FOREWO.RD ....... ....... ....... ...... ..... .... ....... ........ ............... ...... 111 EDITOR'S PREFACE ............ .... .......................................... v AUTIlOR'S PREFACE.... .... ...... ........ ........ .......................... vii ACKN 0 WLEDG EMENTS ................................................. Xl IN1R.ODUCTION ............................................................... 1 Chapter 1. SPIDERS AND THEIR RELATIVES ................. 3 1. Systematic position ofthe Class Arachnida .................... 3 2. Orders of the Arachnida ............................................... 7 3. Characters of the Arachnida ......... '............................ eo.. 5 ] Chapter II. ANATOMY OF SPIDERS ................................. 55 1. External Anatomy of spider .......................................... 55 2. Internal Anatomy of spider ........................................... 60 Chapter III. LIFE OF SPIDERS. .......................................... 80 1. Development of spiders ............................................... 80 2. Food of spiders ............................................................ 81 3. Spiders and their prey.... ............................................... 83 4. Silk ofspiders ............................................................... 85 5. Types of webs of spiders ............................................... 90 6. Orb-weaving mechanism ofIndian Araneid spiders ....... 92 7. Methods of study ......................................................... 111 8. Collection and preservation ofspiders ........................... III 9. Dispersal device of spiders ..................................... .,.... 113 10. Nestsofspiders ............................................................ 114 11. Social spiders ............................................................... 116 12. Pairing of spiders. .... ........ ...... ...................... .......... ...... 1i 7 13. Motherhood ofspiders