Range extension of the Gooty Tarantula Poecilotheria metallica (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India

Kothandapani Raman (1) , Sivangnanaboopathidoss Vimalraj , Bawa Mothilal (2) , Natesan Balachandran (3) , Abhishek Tomar (4)

1 Indigenious Biodiversity Foundation
2 PG and Research Department of Zoology and Wildlife Biology, A.V.C. College
3 IFP - Institut Français de Pondichéry
4 District Forest Officer, Villupuram Division, Collectorate Master Plan Campus

This paper is based on the observations from Tamil Nadu. The presence of this critically endangered Theraphosidae, P. metallica has been recorded for the first time outside of its known distribution, wherefore, expanding its range to further south from its type locality. The present sighting extends its distribution ranges along the Eastern Ghats by approximately 370 Km to further south from its type locality (Pocock 1899).

Mots clés: Poecilotheria metallica; Nandyal and Giddalur; Eastern Ghats

Domaines: Biologie animale

Kothandapani Raman, Sivangnanaboopathidoss Vimalraj, Bawa Mothilal, Natesan Balachandran, Abhishek Tomar. Range extension of the Gooty Tarantula Poecilotheria metallica (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 2019, 11 (10), pp.14373-14376. ⟨hal-02271561⟩