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Context

• A new species of jumping spider has been discovered from the Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It has been named Pancorius sebastiani.

Details

About the new species

• The new species, belongs to the jumping spider genus Pancorius Simon, 1902, and Salticidae family.
• It has been named Pancorius sebastiani after the late spider taxonomist P.A. Sebastian in recognition of his valuable contributions to Indian arachnology.

Distribution

• The Pancorius genus of Asian jumping spiders is primarily distributed in southeast Asia.
• While its distribution was hitherto limited to the east and northeastern regions in India, the new species is the first to be reported from the south.
• The distribution, the researchers point out, appears to be discontinuous, raising doubts if they are limited to those regions.
• An analysis of Salticidae species in the country shows that only two States, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, have reported high numbers
• Harbouring biodiversity hotspots like the Western Ghats and northeastern India have relatively few numbers of species.

Features

• The males and the females of Pancorius sebastiani exhibit reddish brown carapace, yellowish abdomen with black patches and chevron-shaped markings posteromedially.

All about Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary

• Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in the Western Ghats.
• It is located in Kollam district of Kerala and comes under the control of the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve.
• It was established on 25 August 1984.
• The name is a corruption of the Chengurinji, a tree endemic to the region (Gluta travancorica).
• The sanctuary has an artificial lake surrounded by the reservoir of Thenmala Dam.
• Tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forest cover a major area of the sanctuary.
• It has a presence of lion-tailed macaque, a highly endangered species.
• A brood of the highly elusive nocturnal forest bird, the Great Eared Nightjar was spotted for the first time at Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The first eco-tourism project in India, Thenmala Eco-tourism Project has been formulated in and around Shenduruney Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Another important aspect of the Shendurnani Sanctuary is that there are no sandalwood trees here.

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