Rare Sighting of Ogre faced Spider Dinopis Goalparaensis, Araneae: Dinopidae, in the Banana Agro ecosystem of Vadodara, Gujarat

2 Pages·2003·1.3 MB·

by  Siliwal Manju

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
posteriorly. A black eye-like irregular spot on the one and half times according to Tikader. The
anterolateral end near the pedicel. Spinnerets black irregular spot present on the anterolateral
subequa! in length. Dorsum has two hump-like end ofthe abdomen in both sexes in our specimen
prominences on the anterior and posterior end, is also absent in Tikader’s description. Since the
with the middle being depressed, resembling an specimens are similar to Tikader’s specimen in
ant’s abdomen. Ventral side pale reddish brown. all other characters, we believe this difference
Materials examined: 2$?, location: may be a geographical variation or due to an
Ernakulam 3.xii.2000, Coll: Samson Davis; omission in description.
2 9 9, location: Cochin 2.xi.2000, Coll: Sunil
Jose, K.; 2dd, location: Paravur, Ernakulam Acknowledgement
15.xii.2000, Coll: Sudhikumar, A.V.
Natural History: Collected from leaves of We thank the Principal, Sacred Heart
Mangifera indica in the same habitats as that of College Thevara, Rev. Fr. George Koyikara
Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabr.) C.M.I. for providing facilities.
Distribution: India: Ernakulam (Kerala
State), Pune (Maharashtra); Burma (=Myanmar); February 7, 2001 K. SUNIL JOSE
Malaysia; Holland; Africa. SAMSON DAVIS
Remarks: According to Tikader, an eye- A.V. SUDHIKUMAR
like spot is present on the posterolateral end of P.A. SEBASTIAN
the abdomen in male, whereas this is absent in Department of Zoology,
our specimens. Similarly, in the palp the embolus Sacred Heart College, Thevara, Kochi,
is coiled two and halftimes, whereas it was only Kerala 682 013, India.
Reference
M
athew, A.R (1954): Observations ofhabits oftwo spider mimics ofthe Red Ant Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabr.).
J. Bombay nat. Llist. Soc. 52: 249-263.
RARE SIGHTING OF OGRE-FACED SPIDER D1NOP1S GOALPARAENSIS, ARANEAE:
41.
DINOPIDAE, IN THE BANANA AGRO-ECOSYSTEM OF VADODARA, GUJARAT
(With two text-figures)
Dinopis is commonly known as the ogre- and preserved in 70% alcohol. The ogre-faced
faced spider. Review of literature shows that spider, attached to dry leaves of a banana plant,
this spider is poorly known from India. There is was collected from its web. These spiders have a
a single report of the occurrence of Dinopis flattened carapace, elongated abdomen and long
goalparaensis by Tikader and Malhotra (1978) slender legs. Because of these characters this
from Jamduar, District Goalpara, Assam. This spider superficially resembles the juvenile of
note records the occurrence of Dinopis Eucta sp (Family: Tetragnathidae), however, it
goalparaensis from Gujarat for the first time. is easily differentiated from Eucta sp. by the
To study spider diversity in a banana agro- following characters:
ecosystem an extensive survey was carried out 1 . Posterior median eyes larger than the rest,
in different banana fields situated in a 20 km black in colour, anterior median eyes
radius ofVadodara city. Spiders were hand picked smallest and anterior laterals present on
160 JOURNAL BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, i00(1), APR. 2003
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Posterior
Lateral Eye
Posterior
Median Eye
Anterior
Median Eye
Anterior
Lateral Eye
Fig. I: Front view offace, showing arrangement Fig. 2: Prey capture web held between the first two
ofeyes pairs of legs
tubercles which are pointing downwards The Orb web of Dinopis is similar to that
(Fig. 1). In Eucta sp. eyes are smaller and of other orb weavers and it is not basically used
equal in size. for catching prey but for resting. The prey capture
mm
2. Subadult female measured about 4.4 web is rectangular (like a tennis court net) and
mm
in total length, carapace 1.2 long and is held between the front legs by the spider, it
mm mm
1.0 wide, abdomen 3.2 long and consists of sticky silk threads.
mm
0.8 wide. However, adult female
mm
measures about 13.3 in total length Acknowledgement
(Tikaderand Malhotra 1978), nearly equal
to that of Eucta sp. We thank Dr. B.K. Biswas, Zoological
3. Abdomen long but not pointed at the Survey of India, Kolkata, for confirming the
posterior end (unlike Eucta sp.). identity of the species and providing relevant
4. Legs long but very delicate as compared literature.
to Eucta sp.
Dinopis goalparaensis rests in its web, July 3, 2001 SILIWAL MANJU
DOLLY KUMAR
stretching its legs like Eucta sp., anterior legs *
extended forward and posterior legs extended Division of Entomology,
backward. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science,
It is a nocturnal weaver and constructs two M.S. University of Baroda,
types ofwebs: Orb web and Actual Prey capture Vadodara 390 002, Gujarat, India.
web (Fig. 2) *Email: [email protected]
Reference
Tikader, B.K. & M.S. Malhotra 978): A newrecordofrare spideroftheFamily Dinopidae from Indiawith description
( 1
ofa new species. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 87B(6): 157-159.
42. OBSERVATIONS ON BAUHINIA MALABARICA ROXB, LEGUMINOSAE:
CAESALP1NIOIDEAE, SHAPE OF CALYX NOT CORRELATED WITH SEXUAL
IS
NATURE OF FLOWERS
Roxburgh while commenting on Bauhinia 1832) said, “This very distinct species is
malabarica Roxb. (in Carey ed., FI. Ind. 2: 321. remarkable for the regularity of its five-parted
JOURNAL BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 100(1), APR. 2003 161