ABSTRACT
The present study is on the spider fauna of adjoining areas of Tadoba Tiger Reserve, Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary and Navegaon National Park situated in the state of Maharashtra, India. A total of 39 species and 318 individuals belonging to 30 genera and 14 families are sampled during the months of February & May, 2018 and again in February, 2019. These include 4 species namely Araneus panchganiensis Tikader & Bal (Araneidae), Olios kiranae Sethi & Tikader (Sparassidae), Nihonhimea indica (Tikader) (Theridiidae) and Tmarus kotigeharus Tikader (Thomisidae) endemic to India and 17 species new report from the state of Maharashtra. The dominant guild is constituted by the Orb web weavers (35.90%). The most abundant species is Guizygiella indica (Tikader & Bal) (42.45%). Analysis of their zoogeographical distribution reveals that the fauna apart from being Oriental also includes some Palaearctic (35.90%), Australian (17.95%), Ethiopian (12.82%), Nearctic (7.69%) and Neotropical (5.13%) elements. Sex ratio (♀ : ♂) is about 17 : 1.This short-term survey is to provide an update of our knowledge as well as baseline data on the diversity of spiders in the adjoining protected areas of Maharashtra useful for planning future management plan.
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