Principal Investigator: Manju Siliwal

In India, 82 species of mygalomorphs have been recorded of which only 11 species of mygalomorphs have been described from northeast India. It is mainly due to lack of surveys and most of the studies were carried out half a century ago. The north eastern part of India  is currently witnessing major developmental activities such as construction of mega dams, roads to interior areas, and extensive clearing of forests for agriculture. All of these are likely to impact the biodiversity of the region that includes the mygalopmorph spiders, and especially that these spiders are burrowing forms and very poor dispersers. Therefore, the proposed study aims to collect detailed information on mygalomorphs spider diversity and create interest amongst students in northeast India to take up research on spiders. The project is supported by Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund.