Spiders (orderAraneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. Anatomically, spiders differ from other arthropods in that the usual body segments are fused into two tagmata, the cephalothorax and abdomen, and joined by a small, cylindrical pedicel. Unlike insects, spiders do not have antennae. In all except the most primitive group, the Mesothelae, spiders have the most centralized nervous systems of all arthropods, as all their ganglia are fused into one mass in the cephalothorax. Unlike most arthropods, spiders have no extensor muscles in their limbs and instead extend them by hydraulic pressure.
As of November2015[update], at least 45,700 spider species,[1] and 114 families have been recorded by taxonomists. However, there has been dissension within the scientific community as to how all these families should be classified, as evidenced by the over 20 different classifications that have been proposed since 1900.[2]
When considering the spider diversity in South Asia, which includes India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, there are not much extensive spider taxonomy has revealed. Only in India, there is a precise catalogue of spiders are documented by arachnologists. All the other South Asian countries, the scientific study is much lesser than that of India. In Sri Lankan spider fauna, most of the articles and publications on spiders were done by Eugène Simon, C. L. Koch in the past and currently by Channa Bambaradeniya, K. B. Ranawana, V. A. M. P. K. Samarawickrama and Ranil P. Nanayakkara.[3] However, most of them were interested on tiger spiders of Sri Lanka - genus Poecilotheria,[4][5] not much work done in other spider categories.[6]
In 2012 IUCN National Red List of Sri Lanka, much more comprehensive study on spiders and other local fauna had taken place. Afterwards, two books named An introduction to common Spiders of Sri Lanka and Tiger Spiders - Poecilotheria of Sri Lanka by Ranil P. Nanayakkara were published in 2014 and 2013 respectively. Numerous publications and checklists have been made up since then and curiosity about the arachnid fauna arose in the country.[7][8][9] Three new jumping spiders were identified in 2016.[10] In 2018, nine new goblin spiders were identified from the country. With that, Sri Lankan goblin spider diversity increased to 45 described species in 13 different genera.[11] In 2019, the genus Phintelloides was identified.[12] Also, a checklist by Manju Siliwal and Sanjay Molur's detailed Checklist of Spiders of South Asia including 2006 revision of Indian spider checklist was published. This checklist provided all the described spider species of South Asia and part of South-East Asia as well.[13] However, this checklist was published in 2007, making it rather outdated. In 2021, eight species of jumping spiders were identified.[14] In 2020, two cellar spiders,[15] and seven species of jumping spiders were described.[16] Five species belong to Mallinella were discovered in 2025.[17] In 2024, two spiders species of the genus Meotipa were discovered.[18]
The following list provide the spiders currently identified in Sri Lanka. Due to being a very recent checklist, this list will be based on a checklist by Benjamin et al. (2012) among others, with the latest update being made in August 2020. This checklist was made by the Association for Conservation of Environment and Arthropods Sri Lanka, and encompasses a wide variety of referenced journals.
Currently, Sri Lanka has 589 species of spider, belonging to 50 families and 294 genera. Out of these 589 species, 318 are endemic spiders to Sri Lanka with 17 endemic genera.
The genus Argiope includes rather large spiders that often have a strikingly coloured abdomen. These spiders are distributed throughout the world. Most countries in tropical or temperate climates host one or more species that are similar in appearance. The etymology of Argiope is from a Latin word argentum meaning silver. The carapace of Argiope species is typically covered in silvery hairs, and when crawling in the sun, they reflect it in a way that gives them a metallic, white appearance.
Long-jawed orb weavers or long jawed spiders (Tetragnathidae) are a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Anton Menge in 1866. They have elongated bodies, legs, and chelicerae, and build small orb webs with an open hub with few, wide-set radii and spirals with no signal line or retreat. Some species are often found in long vegetation near water.
Benoy Krishna Tikader (1928–1994) was an Indian arachnologist and zoologist and a leading expert on Indian spiders in his time. He worked in the Zoological Survey of India and published the Handbook of Indian Spiders in 1987. The book describes 40 families and 1066 species of India, many of which were described by Tikader himself. The handbook is a guide to all arachnids including scorpions, and not just spiders. He was also a popular scientific author in his native language of Bengali, and was the author of Banglar Makorsha for the layman.
Onomastus is a genus of Asian jumping spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1900. It is the only genus in the subfamily Onomastinae.
Uperodon taprobanicus, also known as the Sri Lankan bullfrog, Sri Lankan painted frog, Sri Lankan kaloula, Ceylon kaloula, Indian painted frog, or painted globular frog, is a species of narrow-mouthed frog found in Nepal, Bangladesh, southern and eastern India, and Sri Lanka up to an altitude of about 1300 metres. It can grow to an adult length of up to 75 millimetres(7.5 cm) long from snout to vent. It was originally described as a subspecies of Kaloula pulchra, ssp. taprobanica. The IUCN lists it as being of "Least Concern".
Argyrodes flavescens, commonly called the red and silver dewdrop spider is a species of spider belonging to the family Theridiidae. It is widely distributed in Southeast Asia and is also found in Sri Lanka. Like other members of this genus, this species is a kleptoparasite, living on the web of a larger spider and feeding off its prey. A. flavescens most commonly inhabits the webs of araneids.
Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary (CKBS), formerly known as Kayaler Bagan, is a bird sanctuary located in West Bengal, India, south of Kolkata. This garden is famous for its wide variety of birds, butterflies, ferns and orchids.
Argiope taprobanica is a species of spider of the genus Argiope. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.
Wanniyala agrabopath, is a species of spider of the genus Wanniyala. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. The species was described with a male found from Agrabopath Forest, Agrapatana, hence the specific name.
Wanniyala hakgala is a species of spider of the genus Wanniyala. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. The species was described with a male found from Hakgala area, hence the specific name.
Wanniyala is a genus of cellar spiders native to Sri Lanka, first described by Huber & Benjamin in 2005. They have six eyes and four pair of legs and grow up to 2 mm in length. The abdomen is globular and males have a distinctive distal hinged sclerite on the procursus of genitalia. The name is derived from the Sri Lankans native to the island that the first spiders were found on- the Vedda people- and their surname Wanniyala-Aetto.
Argyrodes fissifrons, the split-faced silver spider, is a species of spider of the genus Argyrodes. It is found from Sri Lanka to China and Australia.
Tissahamia is a genus of southeast Asian cellar spiders named after Wanniyalaeto chief Uru Warige Tissahami. It was erected in 20180 for several species transferred from Pholcus after a molecular phylogenetic study of the Calapnita-Panjange clade of Pholcidae. They have long, thin abdomens that bend upward near the end. They also have six eyes, three on each of two eye stalks.
Argyrodes antipodianus, also known as the dew drop spider, is a species of kleptoparasitic spider from the cobweb spider family found in Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.
↑ Bambaradeniya, Channa. "Fauna of Sri Lanka"(PDF). World Conservation Union in Sri Lanka. Archived from the original(PDF) on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
↑ [scroll.in/article/883701/scientists-have-found "Scientists have found new spider species in Sri Lanka – and named them after Enid Blyton characters"]. scroll.in. Retrieved 2021-08-21.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
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