Explore Spiders of India by Karthikeyan S. is a handy field guide for identifying the 1900 different species of spiders found in the country. Published by EcoEdu, a collective working towards building awareness about wildlife and the environment, Explore Spiders of India is an attempt to bridge the gap between the inadequate popular literature and detailed scientific works on Indian spiders.
EcoEdu's 'Discover' series of pocket guides have been appreciated for their concise size, visual layout, and succinct content. The constraints of accommodating the lengthier content within the format of 'Discover' series prompted the publisher to come-up with the new series 'Explore'. This series retains the handy size and easy-to-use format while providing adequate information for quick field identification. Explore Spiders of India is the first book in the Explore series by EcoEdu.
With an emphasis on easy field identification using visual cues and general characters, this guide will be invaluable for amateurs and arachnophiles. Karthikeyan's work is a primer covering 20 families and over 100 genera found in natural habitats, gardens and homes. The book encourages observational skills and enables quick identification.
Karthikeyan S. has been a keen observer of natural history and a passionate nature educator for almost four decades. He has been creating awareness among the young and old alike on various aspects of natural history through walks, talks, blogs, and nature camps. He has authored The Fauna of Bangalore – A Checklist published by WWF-India and the popular pocket guide Discover Avenue Trees, published by EcoEdu.
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What are spiders?
Spiders belong to a large group of animals classified as arthropods (Greek: arthro = jointed, poda = legs). They have eight legs and two fangs, with which they inject venom to stun their prey. Also, the body of a spider is divided into just two parts (cephalothorax and abdomen). Their closest relatives include scorpions, whip scorpions, mites, ticks and harvestmen. Till date, scientists have discovered and named about 50,000 species of spiders belonging to 130 families. They range in size from 0.37mm to 300mm! So far, about 1,900 species of spiders belonging to 63 families have been recorded and described from India.
The book is meant to encourage people to look at spiders and learn more about them. Karthikeyan hopes that it will help to kindle public interest in these lifeforms.
The book can be purchased online through the EcoEdu website.
Explore Spiders of India is published by EcoEdu and is priced at ₹400 (shipping cost not included).
