Annual Research Seminar 2005 (Wildlife Institute of India)

Spiders currently comprise 109 families, about 3,733 genera, and nearly 40,700 species. Strong evidence supports spider monophyly: cheliceral venom glands, male pedipalpi modified for sperm transfer, abdominal spinnerets and silk glands, and lack of the trochanter-femur depressor muscle. The study began with defining the systematic position of the spiders and reviewing the available taxonomic knowledge of the taxon. It also addresses the past studies in India, the region and the continent. This study provides a baseline inventory of the diversity of spiders including description of anatomical features of spider in general, their relation to classification, and genera of spiders sampled from the TCA.