Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2015 | 7(15): 8288–8295 Note Spiders are one of the most Spiders of Kerala Agricultural University fascinating and diverse invertebrate Campus, Thrissur, Kerala, India animals in the world. A total of 1 2 ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) 44,540 species of spiders belonging C.K. Adarsh & P.O. Nameer ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) to 3,924 genera of 112 families have been described all over the 1,2 Centre for Wildlife Sciences, College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, Kerala 680656, India OPEN ACCESS world (Platnick 2014). A total of 1 [email protected], 2,299 species of spiders under 67 2 [email protected] (corresponding author) families have been reported from South Asia (Siliwal et al. 2005), of which, from India 1,442 species in year mean maximum is 31.80C. The area receives both 59 families were reported (Siliwal & the south-west and north-east monsoons; the greater Molur 2007). portion of the rainfall, however is received from the Very little documentation has been done on spider south-west monsoon between June and September. diversity of Kerala. Some of the published studies on The mean annual rainfall is 2763mm. The mean number the spiders of Kerala are those by Sudhikumar et al. of rainy days per year is 110 days (KAU Weather Station (2005a,b), Sebastian et al. (2005), and Jose et al. (2008). 2010). The present study was done on the spiders in the Kerala Agricultural University main campus in Kerala, southern Methods India. The study was conducted from March 2012 to April 2013. The microhabitats that are likely to support the spiders Study Area in the study area such as ground, litter, undergrowth, The Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) main campus bushes, tree trunks, foliage, and water bodies were is located at Vellanikkara, Thrissur District, Kerala (Fig.1). searched for spiders. When a spider was located, it The area lies between 10032’–10033’N & 76016’–76017’E was photographed and collected by the hand picking and is located very close to the Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife method suggested by Tikader (1987). The identification Sanctuary, Western Ghats. The campus has a total area of spiders was done with the help of Tikader (1970, of 391.44ha and the major habitats include garden 1977, 1980, 1982, 1987), Koh (1996), Murphy & Murphy lands, botanical garden, plantations of rubber, coconut, (2000), and Sebastian & Peter (2009). The taxonomy plantain, cocoa and orchards of mango, jack, sapota and and nomenclature followed is as per the world spider guava. KAU campus enjoys a moderate climate. The catalogue by Platnick (2014). 10-year mean minimum temperature is 23.30C and 10- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.2468.7.15.8288-8295 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3DD586EA-3E28-468D-A44A-59929F0EBA6D Editor: M. Ganesh Kumar, TNAU, Coimbatore, India. Date of publication: 26 December 2015 (online & print) Manuscript details: Ms # o4148 | Received 09 September 2014 | Final received 30 July 2015 | Finally accepted 10 December 2015 Citation: Adarsh, C.K. & P.O. Nameer (2015). Spiders of Kerala Agricultural University Campus, Thrissur, Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7(15): 8288–8295; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.2468.7.15.8288-8295 Copyright: © Adarsh & Nameer 2015. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduc- tion and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Funding: Kerala Agricultural University. Conflict of Interest:The authors declare no competing interests. Acknowledgements: We thank Dr. A.V. Sudhikumar, for the help in confirming the identity of the spiders. We thank the Dean, College of Forestry for the encouragement and support and R. Sreehari for preparing the map used in this paper. We thank the anonymous reviewers, Subject Editor and Chief Editor for their critical comments and suggestions. 8288 Spiders of KAU Campus, Thrissur Adarsh & Nameer &ŝŐƵƌĞϭ͘>ŽĐĂƟŽŶŵĂƉŽĨ<ĞƌĂůĂŐƌŝĐƵůƚƵƌĂůhŶŝǀĞƌƐŝƚLJŵĂŝŶĐĂŵƉƵƐ͕sĞůůĂŶŝŬŬĂƌĂ͕dŚƌŝƐƐƵƌ͕<ĞƌĂůĂ &ŝŐƵƌĞϮ͘&ĂŵŝůLJͲǁŝƐĞĚŝƐƚƌŝďƵƟŽŶŽĨƐƉŝĚĞƌƐŝŶƚŚĞ<ĞƌĂůĂŐƌŝĐƵůƚƵƌĂůhŶŝǀĞƌƐŝƚLJŵĂŝŶĐĂŵƉƵƐ͕dŚƌŝƐƐƵƌ ZĞƐƵůƚĂŶĚŝƐĐƵƐƐŝŽŶ ǁŚŝĐŚ ǁĂƐ ƌĞƉƌĞƐĞŶƚĞĚ ďLJ ϭϰ ƐƉĞĐŝĞƐ ŽĨ ϭϯ ŐĞŶĞƌĂ ŝŐŚƚLJͲƐŝdžƐƉĞĐŝĞƐ͕ŽĨϱϲŐĞŶĞƌĂƵŶĚĞƌϮϬĨĂŵŝůŝĞƐŽĨ ;&ŝŐ͘ϮͿ͘KƵƚŽĨϮϱϮĞŶĚĞŵŝĐƐƉĞĐŝĞƐŽĨƐƉŝĚĞƌƐŝŶ/ŶĚŝĂ ƐƉŝĚĞƌƐ ǁĞƌĞ ĚŽĐƵŵĞŶƚĞĚ ĚƵƌŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƐƚƵĚLJ ;dĂďůĞ ϭͿ͘ ;^ŝůŝǁĂůĞƚĂů͘ϮϬϬϱͿ͕ϭϲŚĂǀĞďĞĞŶƌĞƉŽƌƚĞĚĨƌŽŵƚŚĞ<h ƌĂŶĞŝĚĂĞǁĂƐƚŚĞĚŽŵŝŶĂŶƚĨĂŵŝůLJǁŝƚŚϭϴƐƉĞĐŝĞƐĨƌŽŵ campus. ŶŝŶĞŐĞŶĞƌĂĂŶĚǁĂƐĨŽůůŽǁĞĚďLJƚŚĞĨĂŵŝůLJ^ĂůƟĐŝĚĂĞ dŚĞ ĨĞĞĚŝŶŐ ŐƵŝůĚ ƐƚƌƵĐƚƵƌĞ ĂŶĂůLJƐŝƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƐƉŝĚĞƌƐ Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2015 | 7(15): 8288–8295 ϴϮϴϵ Spiders of KAU Campus, Thrissur Adarsh & Nameer :ŽƐĞ͕ ^͘<͕͘ ͘s͘ ^ƵĚŚŝŬƵŵĂƌ͕ ^͘ ĂǀŝƐ Θ W͘͘ ^ĞďĂƐƟĂŶ ;ϮϬϬϴͿ͘ WƌĞůŝŵŝŶĂƌLJ ƐƚƵĚŝĞƐ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ƐƉŝĚĞƌ ĨĂƵŶĂ ;ƌĂĐŚŶŝĚĂ͗ ƌĂŶĞĂĞͿ ŝŶ WĂƌĂŵďŝŬƵůĂŵ tŝůĚůŝĨĞ ^ĂŶĐƚƵĂƌLJ ŝŶ tĞƐƚĞƌŶ 'ŚĂƚƐ͕ <ĞƌĂůĂ͕ /ŶĚŝĂ͘ Journal of the Bombay Natural History SocietyϭϬϮ;ϯͿ͗ϮϬϬϭ͘ <ŽŚ͕ :͘<͘,͘ ;ϭϵϵϲͿ͘ A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders - Second ĚŝƟŽŶ͘^ŝŶŐĂƉŽƌĞ^ĐŝĞŶĐĞĞŶƚƌĞ͕^ŝŶŐĂƉŽƌĞ͘ DƵƌƉŚLJ͕&͘Θ:͘DƵƌƉŚLJ;ϮϬϬϬͿ͘Ŷ/ŶƚƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶƚŽƚŚĞ^ƉŝĚĞƌƐŽĨ^ŽƵƚŚ ĂƐƚƐŝĂ͘DĂůĂLJƐŝĂŶEĂƚƵƌĞ^ŽĐŝĞƚLJ͕DĂůĂLJƐŝĂ͕ϲϮϰƉƉ͘ EĂŵĞĞƌ͕ W͘K͕͘ ZĞƐŵŝ͕ Z͘E͕͘ ŶŽŽƉ͕ <͘Z͕͘ ^ŵŝƚŚĂ͕ '͘E͕͘ >ĞŬƐŚŵŝ͕ Z͘ ΘZĂĚŚĂŬƌŝƐŚŶĂŶ͕W;ϮϬϬϬͿ͘ŝƌĚƐŽĨ<ĞƌĂůĂŐƌŝĐƵůƚƵƌĂůhŶŝǀĞƌƐŝƚLJ Campus, Thrissur. Zoo’s Print Journalϭϱ;ϰͿ͗ϮϰϯʹϮϰϲ͖ŚƩƉ͗ͬͬĚdž͘ĚŽŝ͘ ŽƌŐͬϭϬ͘ϭϭϲϬϵͬ:Ždd͘W:͘ϭϱ͘ϰ͘ϮϰϯͲϲ WůĂƚŶŝĐŬ͕E͘/͘;ϮϬϭϰ Ϳ͘dŚĞtŽƌůĚ^ƉŝĚĞƌĂƚĂůŽŐ͕ǀĞƌƐŝŽŶϭϰ͘ϱ͘ŵĞƌŝĐĂŶ DƵƐĞƵŵŽĨEĂƚƵƌĂů,ŝƐƚŽƌLJŚƩƉ͗ͬͬƌĞƐĞĂƌĐŚ͘ĂŵŶŚ͘ŽƌŐͬĞŶƚŽŵŽůŽŐLJͬ ƐƉŝĚĞƌƐͬĐĂƚĂůŽŐͬŝŶĚĞdž͘Śƚŵů͘ĐĐĞƐƐĞĚŽŶϭϰĞĐĞŵďĞƌϮϬϭϰ ^ĞďĂƐƟĂŶ͕W͕͘͘^͘DƵƌƵŐĞƐĂŶ͕D͘:͘DĂƚŚĞǁ͕͘s͘^ƵĚŚŝŬƵŵĂƌΘ͘ KƌďͲǁĞďďƵŝůĚĞƌƐ ŵďƵƐŚĞƌƐ &ŽůŝĂŐĞƌƵŶŶĞƌƐ ^ƵŶŝƐŚ;ϮϬϬϱͿ͘^ƉŝĚĞƌƐŝŶDĂŶŐĂůĂǀĂŶĂŵ͕ĂŶĞĐŽƐĞŶƐŝƟǀĞŵĂŶŐƌŽǀĞ 'ŽƵŶĚƌƵŶŶĞƌƐ ^ĐĂƩĞƌĞĚůŝŶĞǁĞĂǀĞƌƐ ^ŚĞĞƚǁĞďďƵŝůĚĞƌƐ ĨŽƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ ŽĐŚŝŶ͕ <ĞƌĂůĂ͕ /ŶĚŝĂ ;ƌĂŶĞĂĞͿ European Arachnology Stalkers ^ƵƉƉůĞŵĞŶƚϭ͗ϯϭϱʹϯϭϴ͘ &ŝŐƵƌĞϯ͘'ƵŝůĚƐƚƌƵĐƚƵƌĞŽĨƚŚĞƐƉŝĚĞƌƐŝŶ<hŵĂŝŶĐĂŵƉƵƐ͕ ^ĞďĂƐƟĂŶ͕W͘͘Θ<͘s͘WĞƚĞƌ;ϮϬϬϵͿ͘ Spiders of India͘hŶŝǀĞƌƐŝƟĞƐWƌĞƐƐ dŚƌŝƐƐƵƌ ;/ŶĚŝĂͿWǀƚ͘>ƚĚ͕͘ϲϭϰƉƉ͘ ^ŝůŝǁĂů͕D͕͘^͘DŽůƵƌΘ͘<͘ŝƐǁĂƐ;ϮϬϬϱͿ͘/ŶĚŝĂŶ^ƉŝĚĞƌƐ;ƌĂĐŚŶŝĚĂ͗ ƌĂŶĞĂĞͿ͗ hƉĚĂƚĞĚ ĐŚĞĐŬůŝƐƚ ϮϬϬϱ͘ Ͳ Zoos’ Print Journal ϮϬ;ϭϬͿ͗ ϭϵϵϵʹϮϬϰϵ͖ŚƩƉ͗ͬͬĚdž͘ĚŽŝ͘ŽƌŐͬϭϬ͘ϭϭϲϬϵͬ:Ždd͘W:͘ϭϮϴϯ͘ϭϵϵϵͲϮϬϰϵ ƌĞǀĞĂůĞĚƐĞǀĞŶƚLJƉĞƐŽĨĨĞĞĚŝŶŐŐƵŝůĚƐ;hĞƚnjĞƚĂů͘ϭϵϵϵͿ͘ ^ŝůŝǁĂů͕D͘Θ^͘DŽůƵƌ;ϮϬϬϳͿ͘ŚĞĐŬůŝƐƚŽĨƐƉŝĚĞƌƐ;ƌĂĐŚŶŝĚĂ͗ƌĂŶĞĂĞͿ KƌďͲǁĞďďƵŝůĚĞƌƐǁĂƐƚŚĞĚŽŵŝŶĂŶƚĨĞĞĚŝŶŐŐƵŝůĚǁŝƚŚ ŽĨ^ŽƵƚŚƐŝĂŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐƚŚĞϮϬϬϲƵƉĚĂƚĞŽĨ/ŶĚŝĂŶƐƉŝĚĞƌĐŚĞĐŬůŝƐƚ͘ Zoos’ Print JournalϮϮ;ϮͿ͗ϮϱϱϭʹϮϱϵϳ͖ŚƩƉ͗ͬͬĚdž͘ĚŽŝ͘ŽƌŐͬϭϬ͘ϭϭϲϬϵͬ ϯϰйŽĨƚŚĞƚŽƚĂůƌĞƉŽƌƚĞĚƐƉŝĚĞƌƐ;&ŝŐ͘ϯͿ͕ĨŽůůŽǁĞĚďLJ :Ždd͘W:͘ϭϱϬϵ͘ϮϱϱϭͲϵϳ ƐƚĂůŬĞƌƐ;ϮϮйͿ͕ŐƌŽƵŶĚƌƵŶŶĞƌƐ;ϮϬйͿ͕ĂŵďƵƐŚĞƌƐ;ϵйͿ͕ ^ƵĚŚŝŬƵŵĂƌ͕͘s͕͘D͘:͘DĂƚŚĞǁ͕͘^ƵŶŝƐŚΘW͘͘^ĞďĂƐƟĂŶ;ϮϬϬϱĂͿ͘ ƐĐĂƩĞƌĞĚ ůŝŶĞ ǁĞĂǀĞƌƐ ;ϴйͿ͕ ĨŽůŝĂŐĞ ƌƵŶŶĞƌƐ ;ϲйͿ ĂŶĚ ^ĞĂƐŽŶĂů ǀĂƌŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ ƐƉŝĚĞƌ ĂďƵŶĚĂŶĐĞ ŝŶ <ƵƩĂŶĂĚƵ ƌŝĐĞ ĂŐƌŽĞĐŽƐLJƐƚĞŵ͕ <ĞƌĂůĂ͕ /ŶĚŝĂ ;ƌĂŶĞĂĞͿ͘ European Arachnology ƐŚĞĞƚͲǁĞďďƵŝůĚĞƌƐ;ϭйͿ͘ ^ƵƉƉůĞŵĞŶƚϭ͗ϭϴϭʹϭϵϬ͘ dŚĞ ƉƌĞƐĞŶƚ ƐƚƵĚLJ ƌĞŝƚĞƌĂƚĞƐ ƚŚĞ ƐŝŐŶŝĮĐĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ ^ƵĚŚŝŬƵŵĂƌ͕ ͘s͕͘ D͘:͘ DĂƚŚĞǁ͕ ͘ ^ƵŶŝƐŚ͕ ^͘ DƵƌƵŐĞƐĂŶ Θ W͘͘ <hŵĂŝŶĐĂŵƉƵƐŝŶĐŽŶƐĞƌǀŝŶŐƚŚĞďŝŽĚŝǀĞƌƐŝƚLJŽĨƚŚĞ ^ĞďĂƐƟĂŶ ;ϮϬϬϱďͿ͘ Preliminary studies on the spider fauna ŝŶ DĂŶŶĂǀĂŶ ƐŚŽůĂ ĨŽƌĞƐƚ͕ <ĞƌĂůĂ͕ /ŶĚŝĂ ;ƌĂŶĞĂĞͿ͘ European ƌĞŐŝŽŶ͘ĂƌůŝĞƌƐƚƵĚŝĞƐŽŶƚŚĞĨĂƵŶĂŽĨ<hŵĂŝŶĐĂŵƉƵƐ Arachnology ^ƵƉƉůĞŵĞŶƚϭ͗ϯϭϵʹϯϮϳ͘ ŚĂĚƌĞƉŽƌƚĞĚϭϯϱƐƉĞĐŝĞƐŽĨďŝƌĚƐ;EĂŵĞĞƌĞƚĂů͘ϮϬϬϬͿ͕ dŝŬĂĚĞƌ͕͘<͘;ϭϵϳϬͿ͘ Spider fauna of Sikkim. Records of the Zoological Survey of Indiaϲϰ͗ϭʹϴϯ͘ ϭϯϵ ƐƉĞĐŝĞƐ ŽĨ ďƵƩĞƌŇŝĞƐ ;ŶĞĞƐŚ Ğƚ Ăů͘ ϮϬϭϯͿ ĂŶĚ ϱϮ dŝŬĂĚĞƌ͕͘<͘;ϭϵϳϳͿ͘^ƚƵĚŝĞƐŽŶƐƉŝĚĞƌĨĂƵŶĂŽĨŶĚĂŵĂŶĂŶĚEŝĐŽďĂƌ ƐƉĞĐŝĞƐŽĨŽĚŽŶĂƚĞƐ;ĚĂƌƐŚĞƚĂů͘ϮϬϭϰͿ͘dŚŝƐŝƐƋƵŝƚĞ ŝƐůĂŶĚƐ͕/ŶĚŝĂŶKĐĞĂŶ͘Records of the Zoological Survey of IndiaϳϮ͗ ƐŝŐŶŝĮĐĂŶƚ ĂŶĚ ƚŚƵƐ ĞŵƉŚĂƐŝnjĞƐ ƚŚĞ ŝŵƉŽƌƚĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ ϭϱϯʹϮϭϮ͘ dŝŬĂĚĞƌ͕ ͘<͘ ;ϭϵϴϬͿ͘ dŚŽŵŝƐŝĚĂĞ ;ĐƌĂďͲƐƉŝĚĞƌƐͿ͘ &ĂƵŶĂ ŽĨ /ŶĚŝĂ ƵŶŝǀĞƌƐŝƚLJĐĂŵƉƵƐĞƐŝŶďŝŽĚŝǀĞƌƐŝƚLJĐŽŶƐĞƌǀĂƟŽŶ͘ (Araneae) - 1͘ŽŽůŽŐŝĐĂů^ƵƌǀĞLJŽĨ/ŶĚŝĂ͕ ĂůĐƵƩĂ͕ 247pp. dŝŬĂĚĞƌ͕ ͘<͘ ;ϭϵϴϮͿ͘ &ĂŵŝůLJ ƌĂŶĞŝĚĂĞ ;ƌŐŝŽƉŝĚĂĞͿ͕ ƚLJƉŝĐĂů Žƌď ZĞĨĞƌĞŶĐĞƐ ǁĞĂǀĞƌƐ͘&ĂƵŶĂŽĨ/ŶĚŝĂ;ƌĂŶĞĂĞͿͲϮ͘ŽŽůŽŐŝĐĂů^ƵƌǀĞLJŽĨ/ŶĚŝĂ͕ ĂůĐƵƩĂ͕ϮϵϯƉƉ͘ ĚĂƌƐŚ͕ ͘<͕͘ <͘^͘ ŶĞĞƐŚ Θ W͘K͘ EĂŵĞĞƌ ;ϮϬϭϰͿ͘ A preliminary dŝŬĂĚĞƌ͕͘<͘;ϭϵϴϳͿ͘ ,ĂŶĚŬŽĨ/ŶĚŝĂŶ^ƉŝĚĞƌƐ͘ŽŽůŽŐŝĐĂů^ƵƌǀĞLJŽĨ ĐŚĞĐŬůŝƐƚŽĨŽĚŽŶĂƚĞƐŝŶ<ĞƌĂůĂŐƌŝĐƵůƚƵƌĂůhŶŝǀĞƌƐŝƚLJ;<hͿĐĂŵƉƵƐ͕ /ŶĚŝĂ͕ĂůĐƵƩĂ͕ϮϱϭƉƉ͘ dŚƌŝƐƐƵƌŝƐƚƌŝĐƚ͕<ĞƌĂůĂ͕ƐŽƵƚŚĞƌŶ/ŶĚŝĂ͘Journal of Threatened Taxa hĞƚnj͕'͘t͕͘:͘,ĂůĂũΘ͘͘ĂĚLJ;ϭϵϵϵͿ͘'ƵŝůĚƐƚƌƵĐƚƵƌĞŽĨƐƉŝĚĞƌƐŝŶ ϲ;ϴͿ͗ϲϭϮϳʹϲϭϯϳ͖ŚƩƉ͗ͬͬĚdž͘ĚŽŝ͘ŽƌŐͬϭϬ͘ϭϭϲϬϵͬ:Ždd͘Žϯϰϵϭ͘ϲϭϮϳͲϯϳ ŵĂũŽƌĐƌŽƉƐ͘Journal of Arachnology Ϯϳ͗ϮϳϬʹϮϴϬ͘ ŶĞĞƐŚ͕<͘^͕͘͘<͘ĚĂƌƐŚΘW͘K͘EĂŵĞĞƌ;ϮϬϭϯͿ͘ƵƩĞƌŇŝĞƐŽĨ<ĞƌĂůĂ ŐƌŝĐƵůƚƵƌĂůhŶŝǀĞƌƐŝƚLJ;<hͿĐĂŵƉƵƐ͕dŚƌŝƐƐƵƌ͕<ĞƌĂůĂ͘/ŶĚŝĂ͘ Journal of Threatened Taxa ϱ;ϵͿ͗ ϰϰϮϮʹϰϰϰϬ͖ ŚƩƉ͗ͬͬĚdž͘ĚŽŝ͘ŽƌŐͬϭϬ͘ϭϭϲϬϵͬ :Ždd͘ŽϮϴϳϬ͘ϰϰϮϮͲϰϬ ϴϮϵϬ Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2015 | 7(15): 8288–8295 Spiders of KAU Campus, Thrissur Adarsh & Nameer Table 1. Checklist of spiders identified in Kerala Agricultural University main campus. Family / Species Guild Family / Species Guild Araneidae Miturgidae 1. Arachnura angura Tikader, 1970*(Image 1) Orb-web builders 35. Cheiracanthium sp. (Image 21) Foliage runners 2. Araneus bilunifer Pocock, 1900* Orb-web builders Nephilidae Herennia multipuncta (Doleschall, 1859) 3. Araneus sp. (Simon, 1886) (Image 2) Orb-web builders 36. Orb-web builders (Image 22) 4. Neoscona sp. (Image 3) Orb-web builders 37. Nephila kuhlii (Doleschall, 1859) (Image 23) Orb-web builders 5. Argiope aemula (Walckenaer, 1842) Orb-web builders Nephila pilipes (Fabricius, 1793) (Image 24 38. Orb-web builders 6. Argiope anasuja Thorell, 1887 (Image 4) Orb-web builders & 25) Argiope catenulata (Doleschall, 1859) (Image Oxyopidae 7. Orb-web builders 5) 39. Oxyopes birmanicus Thorell, 1887 (Image 26)