Tigidia singhal

Tigidia singhal Latest News

Researchers recently described a new trapdoor spider species, Tigidia singhal, from the semi-arid grasslands of the Deccan Plateau.

About Tigidia singhalt

• It is a new species of trapdoor spider.
• It was discovered from the semi-arid grasslands of the Deccan Plateau in Maharashtra. 
• The collected specimen was a 15-millimetre-long female with black legs covered in greyish bristle-like hairs and a lighter abdomen with chevron-shaped markings.  
• The discovery brings the number of Tigidia species in India to eight. Spiders of the genus Tigidia occur only in Madagascar, Mauritius, and India. 
• Until now, species of this genus were known from peninsular India’s tropical evergreen and deciduous forests, particularly the Western and Eastern Ghats. 
• T. singhal is the first record of this genus from a semi-arid open natural ecosystem. 

‹ ›

What are Trapdoor Spiders?

• Trapdoor spiders are long-living, sedentary spiders that spend most of their lives in burrows, rarely leaving except to search for a mate.
• The doors of silk, soil, moss, and leaves that many species construct to camouflage their burrows give this group its name.  
• This adaptation has great advantages for the spider, providing protection against desiccation and predators and enabling efficient prey capture.
• They feed by quickly opening the trap door and grabbing an insect or other arthropod that is passing close by. 
• Trapdoor spider burrows aerate soil, maintain soil structure, and provide microhabitats for other organisms. 
• Highly sensitive to habitat disturbances, these spiders also serve as ecological indicators, with their presence suggesting a healthy ecosystem and rich soil biodiversity. 
• They belong to the infraorder Mygalomorphae, which also includes tarantulas and funnel-web spiders.  
• The genus Tigidia falls within the family Barychelidae (brush-footed spiders) — one of India’s nine mygalomorph families.

News: MONG