Assessment of orb weaver spider (Araneidae Clerck, 1757) diversity in Gariaband forest region with a new endemic species in Chhattisgarh region, India

Chhattisgarh is a state surrounded by dense forests and full of beauty, where various types of fauna and flora are found. The biodiversity here is very rich, but we do not know much about the spiders found here. In this chapter, some species of orb weaver spiders found in the Gariaband forest region of Chhattisgarh have been described, which were recorded during the study. According to the data till now, 300 species of spiders are found in Chhattisgarh, which belong to 70 genera and 45 families. This number is very less compared to other states of India. This study was conducted in Gariaband forest region of Chhattisgarh state. In this study, three forest sites were taken for study, which are (1) Pairi Ghumar Dam (2) Bhuteshwar Nath jungle (3) Raipur - Deobhog National Highway forest site. Research conducted from December 2024 to April 2025 approximately 5 months. Plants, litters, stone cracks, barks and ground surface found in these sites were examined by direct visual method. During the study, 24 spider species were obtained from all three sites, which belong to 9 genus. Out of these 24 spiders, a spider species Arachnura angura Tikader, 1970 from Bhuteshwar nath region have been recorded for the first time in Chhattisgarh region, whose description is given in this chapter. It has been given well. In the overall forest region most of the genus Neoscona has 7 species, Argiope 4, Cyclosa 4, Cyrtophora 2, Eriovixia 2, Guizygiella 2 and 1 species each of Arachnura, Bijoaraneus and Larinia found.