Diversity and distribution of spiders from Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India

The study describes the identification of the spider assemblages with respect to their diversity and distribution in the semi evergreen forest, Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India. The paper aims to introduce this neglected Order- Araneae which is primarily unknown to Science particularly in Northeast India. A total of 95 species of spiders belonging to 56 genera and 18 families were recorded during the study from June-August and October-December, 2011. The species were identified using keys for Indian spiders from (Tikader, 1987; Platnick , 2011). Methodology included active searching at all layers from ground level to tree canopy layer accessible easily for hand collecting and visual surveys. This is the first attempt to report the spider assemblages and their microhabitat preferences from Assam, India. Such surveys are vital for conservation of these creatures and building a biodiversity database of this mega diverse group from a fragmented semi-evergreen forest ecosystem in Assam, India. This study is focused on the neglected diversity of spider fauna representing this semi evergreen forest.