Diversity of Spiders and Seasonal Variation Surrounding “Madosilli Waterfall” Sarangarh-Bilaigarh District, Chhattisgarh, India.

Spiders, classified as invertebrates, belong to the phylum Arthropoda, class Arachnida, and order Araneae. A study was conducted from March 2024 to February 2025 to investigate spider diversity in Madosilli Waterfall the Sarangarh-Bilaigarh District, Chhattisgarh. The primary objective of this survey was to assess the existing spider diversity and seasonal variation within the designated study area. A comprehensive survey of Madosilli Waterfall documented a total of 32 species belonging to28 genera and 12 families. The family Araneidae was the most diverse, with 8 species identified, followed by Salticidae with 7 species. Oxyopidae was represented by 3 species. The families Gnaphosidae, Hersiliidae, Lycosidae, Pholcidae, Sparassidae, Tetragnathidae, and Thomisidae each contributed 2 species to the surveyed fauna, Agelenidae and Theridiidae were represented by a single species each. Seasonal variability is generally highest in post-monsoon (n=31), followed by the monsoon season(n=27), followed by the winter(n=25) season and lowest in the pre-monsoon season(n=14). This research provides relevant and up-to-date data on spider species and sessional variation within the specified region, offering a potentially valuable dataset for future investigations of spider fauna.

Spider Diversity, Madosilli Waterfall, Araneae

1. Anirudhan and Sudhikumar (2023) Seasonal variation in the diversity and species richness of spiders in the Indian Thar desert, Research square, pp 1-21 https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3336485/v1 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Coddington, J. A. & Levi, H. W. (1991). Systematics and evolution of spiders (Araneae). Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 22: 565-592. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Choudhury, S.R.et al. (2023) Spider fauna of Chhattisgarh: An updated checklist of spiders of Chhattisgarh, India with new additions. Serket (2024) vol. 20(3): 311-334. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Gajbe, P. (2003). Checklist of Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Zoos' Print Journal, 18(10), 1223-1226. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Gajbe, U. A. (2008b). Fauna of India and the adjacent countries, Spider (Arachnida: Araneae: Oxyopidae). Records of the Zoological Survey of India, 3: 1-117. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Gupta and Chandra (2016) Diversity of Orthoptera (Insecta) fauna of Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity 10(1) [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Kujur, R., & Ekka, A. (2015). Spider diversity of Ram Jharna, Raigarh District, Chhattisgarh, India. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology, 8(7), 813-819. Kujur, [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. R., & Ekka, A. (2016). Exploring the spider fauna of Gomarda Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh, India. International Research Journal of Biological Sciences, 5(6), 31-36 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Kujur, R., & Ekka, A. (2016). Incentivization of Spider fauna of Indra Vihar Park, Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, India. IOSK-JESTFT, 1(2), 20-26. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Kujur, R., & Ekka, A. (2016). Spatial diversity of spiders of Rose Garden, Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, India. International Journal of Advanced Research in Science and Engineering, 5(11), 139-144 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Mishra, A.K. & Shrivastava, S.K. 2002. Spiders associated with rice crop in Raipur. Agricultural Science Digest, 22(4): 261-263. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Nyffeler, M. & Benz, G. (1987). Spiders in natural pest control: A review. Journal of Applied Entomology 103: 321-339. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Platnick, N. I. (1999). Dimensions of biodiversity: targeting megadiverse groups. In: Cracraft, J. and Grifo, F.T. (eds). The Living Planet in Crisis: Biodiversity Science and Policy. Columbia University Press, New York. 33-52pp [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Pearson, D.L., and Cassola, F. (1992). World-wide species richness patterns of tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae): indicator taxon for biodiversity and conservation studies. Conservation Biology, 6: 376-391. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Reichert, S.E., and Lockley, T. (1984). Spiders as biological control agents. Annual Review of Entomology, 29: 299-320. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Sen, D.L. 2021. Biodiversity of spider fauna at, Gariaband, Chhattisgarh, India. International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science, 3(10): 953-961. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Sebastian, P.A. and Peter, K.V. 2009. Spiders of India, 1st Edition. Universities Press, Hyderabad, 614pp. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Singh and Sharma (2022) An updated checklist of spider (Araneomorphae: Araneae: Arachnida) diversity of Madhya Pradesh, India. International Journal of Zoological Investigations 8(8):191- 218 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Singh et al. (2023) Spider fauna of India, (Book) ISBN- 978-81-959483-4-5 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Shear, W.A., Palmer, J. M., Coddington, J. A., and Bonamo, P. M. (1989). A Devonian spinneret: early evidence of spiders and silk use. Science, 246: 479- 481. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Thawkar and Ghonmode (2024) Study on seasonal diversity of spider fauna (order Araneae) from Nagpur district, Maharashtra, INDIA. JETNR |Volume 2, Issue,5, pp212-217, ISSN: 2984-9276 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Tikader, 1960 (Araneae: Thomisidae) in Gariyaband, Chhattisgarh, India. International Journal of Research in Academic World, 3(12), 94-95. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Tikader, B.K. 1987. Handbook of Indian Spiders. Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, 251pp. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Tikader, B.K. and Biswas, B. (1981). Spider fauna of Calcutta and vicinity part I. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, Occasional Paper, 30:1-49 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Tikader, B.K. and Malhotra, M.S. (1980). The fauna of India (Araneae) Spiders (Lycosidae). Records of the Zoological Survey of India, 1(2): 248-447. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Toppo AK., Sahu KR. & Nishad H. (2020). Diversity of Spider in Achanakmar Wild Life Sanctuary district Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. Life Sciences Bulletin 17(1&2): 117- 119. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Toppo AK., Sahu KR. & Nishad H. (2022). Diversity of Spider Fauna of Kharun River at Khutaghat Dam, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India, International Journal of Food And Nutritional Sciences, 11(12):14170-14176 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Wise, D. H. (1993). Spiders in ecological webs. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. 328pp [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. WSC (2025) [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Nest-Building Behaviour in Ants: Structural Adaptations and Environmental Interactions
• Assessment of Lipid Peroxidation in Liver and Heart Of D-Galagctose Induced Chick Embryo
• Avian Diversity in and Around Nazare Dam, Jejuri, Pune District, Maharashtra, India
• Integrative Morphological and Molecular Classification of Culex vishnui Larvae from Diverse Ecological Habitats of Uttar Pradesh