A new species of jumping spider and millipede have made their home in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. They have been discovered by researchers from Centre for Animal Taxonamy and Ecology.

The researchers found the new species of jumping spider very interesting. The male spider of the species is orange in colour while the females are light green coloured.

Sudhikumar A V, principal investigator and Head of CATE, who led the study said that the male and female spiders of the species can easily be mistaken for two separate species. There is a longitudinal black stripe on the dorsal surface of the abdomen in the male spider and their elongated legs have long black lines. The female spider camouflages its appearance and it is very difficult to spot it in the green foliage.

The spider is usually seen in the monsoon season and feeds on small insects in the foliage. It has been named ‘Hindumane Wayanadensis’. According to Sudhikumar, the first part of the scientific name 'Hindumanes' was given as the genus was present only in Hindustan.  

The same team of researchers also found a new species of millipede which they named ‘Anoplodesmus wayanadensis’.

Research scholars Sudhin P P, Nafin K S and Pooja Anilkumar took part in the study that was funded by the department of science and technology, Government of India.The discovery has been published in the latest issue of Zootaxa, an international scientific journal of natural history.