Six new spider species endemic to Sri Lanka discovered

Sri Lankan researchers have identified six new spider species endemic to the island following several years of fieldwork in largely unexplored forest habitats.

The discovery was made by Sri Lankan arachnologists Naruwan Dayananda and Suresh P. Benjamin, who documented the findings based on reproductive morphology and updated knowledge of the distribution of the Utivarachna genus in Sri Lanka.

The six newly described species are:
•⁠ ⁠U. boo sp. nov.
•⁠ ⁠U. haputale sp. nov.
•⁠ ⁠U. loolecondera sp. nov.
•⁠ ⁠U. mandaram sp. nov.
•⁠ ⁠U. peekaboo sp. nov.
•⁠ ⁠U. upcotensis sp. nov.

According to the researchers the findings are expected to improve understanding of spider diversity in South Asia and contribute to broader regional knowledge of arachnid fauna.

The study notes that the spider family Trachelidae currently includes about 300 species across 29 genera worldwide. In Sri Lanka, only four species from three genera, Orthobula, Trachelas and Utivarachna. had previously been recorded, with little detailed study conducted in recent years.

Although Utivarachna is considered a diverse genus across Southeast Asia, its presence in Sri Lanka had until now been limited to a single known species. The genus was first described by Kishida in 1940 based on a species from Borneo, distinguished by a unique extension of the carapace.

Researchers say the new discoveries highlight the rich but underexplored biodiversity of Sri Lanka’s forest ecosystems. (Newswire)

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