BHUBANESWAR: In a significant discovery, scientists from Odisha have profiled a new species of ‘happy-face spider’ in western Himalayas of India, adding to the rich Araneae diversity of the country.
The new Himalayan spider species from the ‘Theridiidae’ family has been discovered by scientists Devi Priyadarshini and Ashirwad Tripathy from Makku, Tala and Jagpura region of Rudraprayag district, close to the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand. It has been named as ‘Theridion himalayana’.
The species has been found to be polymorphic in both sexes and has 32 different morphs that exhibit patterns of a smiling face with dots in colours of red, black and white arranged differently.
A similar looking species, Hawaiian happy-face spider (Theridion grallator) is endemic to the Hawaiian island in USA. The scientists, however, said a genetic variation of around 8.5 per cent has been observed in the Hawaiian happy-face spider which indicates that Theridion himalayana is a separately evolved species in Asia with multiple morphs.
The spider also appears to be quite different in its evolutionary history from its close relatives found in Europe, Asia and North America, they stated in their research paper, ‘On the discovery of a new polymorphic happy-face spider (Araneae, Theridiidae) from the Western Himalayas, India, with notes on its natural history’, published in Pensoft’s Evolutionary Systematics journal recently.
Although the new species closely resembles Theridion grallator in overall body shape and colour pattern, scientists said it can still be easily distinguished by its reproductive features. Theridion himalayana can be identified by the unique shape of its reproductive structures.
New addition to 1,992 spider species from 63 different families
The copulatory ducts of the species are long, strongly curved and project forward, running almost parallel before bending downward at the ends. They also have a distinctive hook-like shape that is not seen in other related species.
The fertilisation ducts, on the other hand, are short, thin and point upward, spreading apart in a V-shape. These arrangement also sets T himalayana apart from other Indian species that show different duct shapes and orientations.
Interestingly, the scientists stumbled upon the species during their research on ant species in the region during 2023 and continued further research on it at the Regional Museum of Natural History (RMNH) in Bhubaneswar. “India currently has 1,992 species of spiders from 63 different families. The new species is a fresh addition to rich diversity,” said Priyadarshini, scientist-D and head of office at RMNH, Bhubaneswar.
The species preys upon small flies and insects and plays a significant role in insect control in the forests. They are also a crucial part of food chain. Besides, the spider could also be a crucial pollinator for some plants, which is yet to be established.
“The distinctiveness of the species within the genus raises broader questions about lineage dispersal, parallel evolution of colour polymorphism and independent evolution of species in montane forests,” Priyadarshini said.
She also said ginger plant, where both the species have been found, creates common link between T himalayana and T grallator. As ginger plant is not native to the US, further research is needed to find if the species originated from this region.