VADODARA: India's largest trapdoor spider has been found in Dang district of Gujarat. The three centimetres (cm) long spider was documented by researchers from MS University's (MSU) Department of Zoology. The spider which belongs to the genus (class) 'Idiops' was also reported for the first time in Gujarat. Trapdoor spider is known to grow to the size of 1.5 cm.

The presence of this species in Gujarat has been identified by professor Dolly Kumar and her team as part of an Arachnid biodiversity study of Gujarat sanctioned by Gujarat Biodiversity Board (GBB).

"The burrows of the spiders that we found in Dang were two to three times deeper as compared to the known species from the rest of India. These spiders can live up to 12 years and are also good ecological models and important in the study of conservation," said professor Kumar who carried out the study along with her students Nimisha Garwasis and Archana Yadav.

"Trapdoor spider has been reported from Africa, south and central America and the Indian subcontinent. In India, the species has been found in Orissa, Eastern Ghats, Maharashtra, and Southern India. Nocturnal by nature, the spider's existence has been threatened by deforestation and soil erosion," said Dr Manju Siliwal, an arachnologist who was part of the project.