Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2013 | 5(10): 4483–4491 Additions to the araneofauna of Andhra Pradesh, India - part II. Records of interesting species of the comb-footed genera Latrodectus, Rhomphaea and Coleosoma (Araneae: ISSN Online 0974-7907 Communication Short Theridiidae) Print 0974-7893 C. Srinivasulu 1, Bhargavi Srinivasulu 2, S.M. Maqsood Javed 3, M. Seetharamaraju 4, OPEN ACCESS S. Asha Jyothi 5, C. Aditya Srinivasulu 6 & Farida Tampal 7 1,2,4,5 Wildlife Biology Section, Department of Zoology, University College of Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh 500007, India 3,7 World Wide Fund for Nature-India, APSO, Ho. No. 818, Castle Hills, Road No. 2, Near NMDC, Vijayanagar Colony, Hyderabad 500057, Andhra Pradesh, India 6 Biodiversity Research and Conservation Society, G4 MRK Towers, Swarnadhamanagar, Old Bowenpally, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh 500011, India 1
[email protected] (corresponding author), 2
[email protected], 3
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[email protected] Abstract: We report three interesting species of comb-footed spiders The family Theridiidae Sundevall, 1833 is one of the (Aranaea: Theridiidae) belonging to three different genera, namely, most diverse families of spiders characterized by the Latrodectus, Rhomphaea and Coleosoma, of which Latrodectus erythromelas is a first record to India, while Rhomphaea projiciens presence of a distinct comb on the tarsus of the fourth and Coleosoma floridanum are a first record to Andhra Pradesh. pair of legs (Levi 1959a). The spiders of this family are We provide the detailed description of Latrodectus erythromelas, Rhomphaea projiciens and Coleosoma floridanum.