Department of Zoology, Government Arts College, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Research Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2023, 18(02), 017–020
Article DOI: 10.30574/wjarr.2023.18.2.0741
Received on 16 March 2023; revised on 28 April 2023; accepted on 01 May 2023
The distributional records of Poecilotheria species are scarce, yet it is crucial to know their distribution patterns for effective species conservation. In this article, we present a new distributional range for Poecilotheria rufilata. During a spider survey conducted in August 2022 at Anaimalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, a male P. rufilata, commonly known as the Red slate ornamental tarantula, was sighted. This species has limited distributional data, with the type locality being Peppara Dam in the Agastyavanam Reserve of the Western Ghats in Kerala. The observation of P. rufilata in Anaimalai Tiger Reserve expands our knowledge of the species range and highlights the need for continued distributional work to identify the distribution patterns of Poecilotheria spp in Tamil Nadu. Such studies are crucial for developing effective conservation strategies to protect these spiders and their habitats.
New range extension; Poecilotheria spp; Tiger spider; Anaimalai Tiger Reserve; Western Ghats
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Mohamed Ashik M and Ezhilarasi N. New distributional range record of the Red slate ornamental spider Poecilotheria rufilata (Theraphosidae) in Anaimalai Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2023, 18(2), 017-020. Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2023.18.2.0741