Abstract
The spiders are the member of the class Arachnida of the phylum Arthropoda with a hard cephalothorax and soft abdomen. They are environmental indicators and play an important role in biological control of insect population. The present study was conducted to prepare the checklist of the first recorded spider fauna of the 6 quadrates, i.e., Daramdala, Doki, Guryaal, Samang, Shahoor and Sia-Sheringal of Sheringal, Dir Upper (DU), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan during June 2013-July 2014. Ten species (spp) belonging to 7 families, and 10 genera (n = 123: total; n = 77: identified; n = 46: unidentified) were recorded. The family Opilionidae (n = 12): harvestmen spider, Hadrobunus grandis Sundevall, 1833; family, Hersiliidae (n = 6): two-tailed spider, Harsilia savignyi Lucas, 1836; family, Pholcidae (n = 10): cellar spider, Crossopriza lyoni Blackwall, 1867; family, Araneidae (n = 5): garden spider, Araneus diadematus Clerck, 1757; family, Gnaphosidae (n = 3): ground spider, Gnaphosa eucalyptus Ghafoor and Beg, 2002 were with one species; family, Sparassidae (n = 19), huntsman spider with 2 spp including Halconia insignis Thorell, 1836, and Isopeda tuhogniga Barrion and Litsinger, 1995; while the highest number of species caught from family Lycosidae (n = 20): wolf spider with 3 spp including Arctosa littorali Simon, 1897; Hippasa partita Takidar, 1970 and Pardosa distincta Backwall, 1867 were recorded. It was concluded that 7 families with 10 genera and species each, respectively, were identified from the study area. A detail study is required for further enhancing of the biodiversity of the spider fauna of Sheringal, KP, Pakistan for synthesis of the ethnozoopharmaco-products.
Highlights
The class Arachnida, in the phylum Arthropoda, contains spiders, which are considered as the dreadful organisms
The current research was conducted during June 2013-August 2014 in 6 quadrates, i.e., Daramdala, Doki, Guryaal, Samang, Shahoor and Sia Sheringal of the study area, Sheringal, Dir Upper (DU), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan (Figure 1)
Total 120 specimens has been collected, due to unavoidable circumstances 43 specimen has been unidetified, 77 specimens were identified to species level, they belong to 7 families
Summary
The class Arachnida, in the phylum Arthropoda, contains spiders, which are considered as the dreadful organisms. They have 2 body parts, i.e., a cephalothorax and an abdomen. The abdomen is soft and unsegmented with reproductive appendages. They are mostly carnivorous, typically, they prey on insects and other terrestrial organisms. They keep insects/pests populations under control by providing an important service, i.e., they act as biological control agents [1]
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