DNA barcoding and phylogenetic analysis of spider Nephila pilipes from Latehar, Jharkhand (India)
Authors: Manoj Kumar, Rakesh Ranjan, Bharti Singh Raipat, Manoranjan Prasad Sinha
Accepted for Publication: January 2026 | Volume 2, Issue 1, OMXX
Abstract
The movement of energy from on trophic level to another is one of the spiders’ most significant interactions. They are predatory arthropods that play important role in the food web. Since they are obligatory predators, they feed on a wide range of creatures, including other spiders. Spiders are natural predators of many insects, including pests like mosquitoes, flies, and agricultural pests. By preying on these insects, spiders help to keep their populations in check, reducing the need for chemical pesticides. This not only helps in maintaining ecological balance but also supports healthier crop yields. Nephila pilipes, plays significant role in maintaining ecological balance by contributing to pest control, are part of complex food web, serving as prey for birds, wasps and other predators. In Jharkhand state of India, the study of spiders is neglected, and till now no significant scientific contributions related to spiders are not there. Thus, owing to these apprehensions, the present work, first of its kind, was undertaken to do the morpho-molecular study of Nephila pilipes from the Latehar forest, Jharkhand. For the first time from Jharkhand, we have performed morpho-molecular analysis of any of the spiders from Jharkhand. We report the presence of Nephila pilipes from Latehar forest of Jharkhand on the basis of both morphological as well as molecular (CO1) analysis.
Keywords: Nephila pilipes, spider, Jharkhand, CO1 gene, barcoding, GenBank, Accession ID
DOI: #
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