Guwahati: Gautam Kadam, who has described 12 new spider species along with Rishikesh tripathi, including four from Meghalaya, notes that ground-dwelling spiders such as those in the Palpimanidae, Lycosidae, and Gnaphosidae families are generally neglected.
“The moment I saw the spider, I thought it was something interesting. Sometimes, I don’t focus on ground-dwelling families of spiders such as Palpimanidae, Gnaphosidae, etc., but this one caught my attention. Its reddish-brown colour and the powerful front legs attracted me, so I collected it for further examination,” Kadam told EastMojo.
Interestingly, the spider he saw was a new species, Steriphopus wangala, from the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. It has been dedicated to the Garo community’s harvest festival, the 100 Drums Festival.
Kadam was part of a group of scientists from the P.A. Sebastian Centre for Arachnology Research (PASCAR), Division of Arachnology, Department of Zoology at Sacred Heart College, Ernakulam, and the Centre for Animal Taxonomy and Ecology (CATE) at Christ College, Irinjalakuda, Thrissur, Kerala who were behind the discovery of the species.
Kadam who is from the Division of Arachnology, Department of Zoology, Sacred Heart College, Thevara, Cochin, Kerala says a survey was conducted in April 2022 in the remote areas of Meghalaya, particularly in the Garo Hills.
“During this survey, I collected a spider near Baladinggre village in the West Garo Hills district, within a human settlement. “This spider belongs to the Palp-Footed Spider family, characterized by their disproportionately powerful and heavily sclerotized first pair of legs, a distinctive feature useful for field identification” he said.
Kadam is a PhD student working in the PASCAR lab, focusing on the taxonomy, ecology, and conservation of Mygalomorph spiders in the Eastern Ghats of India.
“After the lab analysis, we confirmed that the spider belongs to the Steriphopus genus of the Palpimanidae family. By comparing it with described species of this genus, we concluded that this is a new species. Previously, this genus had four species worldwide, with one species identified in India. With this discovery, the total number of species in this genus is now five globally, with two found in India” Kadam said.
Dr. Pradeep Sankaran, a scientist from PASCAR who specializes in ground-dwelling spiders of India, identified the species as belonging to the Steriphopus genus. He has expertise in the families Zodariidae, Gnaphosidae, and Lycosidae and has described 37 new species and four new genera of spiders from India.
“We dedicate this new species to the Garo community’s harvest festival, the 100 Drums Festival, which honors Saljong, the Sun-God of fertility, marking the end of a period of toil and indicating the beginning of the winter season” Kadam added.
The other member of the team Rishikesh Tripathi is working on Thar Desert spiders as a PhD student in the CATE lab. He has described 21 new species of spiders from different parts of India.
“Jhum cultivation and road constructions are potentially threats to the species,” he said.
The Wangala Festival is a time when the tribals offer sacrifices to please their main deity Saljong, the Sun God. Typically celebrated for two days, it sometimes continues for a week. The first day’s ceremony, known as “Ragula,” is performed inside the chief’s house, while the second day’s ceremony is known as “Kakkat.”
During the festival, people of all ages dress in colorful costumes with feathered headgears and dance to the music played on long oval-shaped drums. It is a time to relax, and for days, the hills and valleys echo with the extraordinary beat of drums.
The festival features various dance forms with subtle variations, the main motif being two parallel lines of dancers—one of men and the other of women, both clad in festive fineries. Both young and old join the festivities with equal enthusiasm. While the men beat the drums, the line moves forward in rhythmic accord. The ‘orchestra’ of men includes drums, gongs, and flutes, punctuated by the sonorous music of a primitive flute made of buffalo horn.
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There is a notable sense of tempo among the performers, and the energetic dance leaves a lasting impression on the beholder.
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I would like to point out that it’s “Rugala ” not “Ragula”, and it must be “sa’sat” or “cha’chat” not “kakkat”