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The Western Ghats are a mountain system in western India. They are a biodiversity hotspot, meaning that they are home to many endemic species found nowhere else on Earth. 

Silent Valley National Park in India’s Western Ghats. Some of the mountain range is protected, but many areas face threats from development and hunting. Image courtesy of Zeeshan Mirza.

Researcher Zeeshran Mirza found and described four new species of tarantulas from the Western Ghats. “Most people in India are not even aware that there are tarantulas in India when there are more than 60 species in the country,” he said.

Zeeshan Mirza with one of the new tarantula species from the Western Ghats.
Zeeshan Mirza with one of the new tarantula species from the Western Ghats. Mirza has discovered several species of reptiles in India as well. Image courtesy of Zeeshan Mirza.

The large, fuzzy spiders live in tree hollows, along streams and forest paths, and in forest patches. The tarantulas have interesting behaviors. Tarantula females carry their egg sacs under their mouth parts (or chelicerae) and create hammock-like web structures to protect their eggs.

One of the newly described tarantula species, named Haploclastus bratocolonus (meaning “tree dweller”), makes its home in hollow trees along rivers.

A female Haploclastus montanus, a new species of tarantula found in the Western Ghats. Image courtesy of Zeeshan Mirza.

Another species, Haploclastus montanus, was found living at elevations higher than 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) in mountain forests. This makes it one of the highest-living tarantulas known from the Western Ghats.

Tarantulas have important roles in their forest homes. They act as biological pest controllers and prey on smaller invertebrates and vertebrates. “They also form part of the diet of other species like spider wasps and small carnivores,” Zeeshan said.

Zeeshan Mirza, with one of the four new tarantula species he found in India’s Western Ghats. Image courtesy of Zeeshan Mirza.
The burrow of a newly described tarantula genus in the Western Ghats if India. Image courtesy of Zeeshan Mirza.

One threat to these newly described species is being collected from the wild for the pet trade. Many spiders are at risk from collectors before science can fully understand them.

Alice Hughes, a biologist at the University of Hong Kong who studies the global trade in arachnids, found that rare spiders often appear for sale shortly after being scientifically described.

Zeeshan Mirza offers some clear advice about how to help protect these newly described tarantulas: “Tarantula enthusiasts can be more responsible and only choose species that have been captive-bred and are not sourced illegally.”

Notes

Zeeshan Mirza, who found and described the new tarantula species, is a researcher from the Max Planck Institute for Biology in Germany.

David Brown adapted this story for Mongabay Kids. It is based on an article by Liz Kimbrough, published on Mongabay News. Read the full story here:

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