Deva Matha College · Kuravilangad, Kerala

Spiders of the Western Ghats, described one species at a time.

The Arachnology Research Lab surveys the forests of Kerala for their most overlooked residents. We describe new species, keep the state's reference collection, and train the next generation of Indian arachnologists.

See the new species Look under the microscope
The blue burrowing tarantula Haploclastus devamatha at the entrance of its burrow
Haploclastus devamatha · a burrowing tarantula with a blue sheen, named for Deva Matha College
Described by the lab from Kulathupuzha, Kerala · photographed at its burrow
2013Lab founded
410+Spider species documented
20Kerala mygalomorph species recorded
9New mygalomorph species described
3Doctoral researchers trained
11International conferences
About the lab

A dedicated home for Indian arachnology

The Arachnology Research Lab at Deva Matha College, Kuravilangad is a leading centre in India for the study of spiders, with a particular focus on the diversity of the Western Ghats in Kerala.

Established in 2013, the lab has documented over 410 species of spiders under the leadership of Dr Sunil Jose, with several new to science. Its work is supported by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) and the University Grants Commission (UGC), and its reference collection is housed in the college's Biodiversity Museum.

Beyond taxonomy, the lab offers a public consultancy for species identification and microphotography, hosts student field projects across Kerala, and trains doctoral researchers in survey methods, morphology and DNA barcoding.

Taxonomy

Describing and redescribing species from museum and field material.

Molecular work

DNA barcodes lodged in NCBI GenBank.

Imaging

High-resolution multifocus microscopy of diagnostic structures.

Conservation

Habitat records and threat assessment for range-restricted species.

Equipment and collections
  • Leica Automontage S APO stereo-microscope system for high-resolution taxonomic imaging
  • Facilities for DNA extraction, PCR amplification and barcoding for phylogenetic analysis
  • A growing voucher and reference specimen collection in the college Biodiversity Museum
Dr Sunil Jose K
Prof. (Dr) Sunil Jose K
Principal Investigator & Professor · Dept. of Zoology, Deva Matha College

"My work revolves around the fascinating diversity of spiders, particularly in the Western Ghats of Kerala, which is a treasure trove of biodiversity."

His research began with a doctoral survey of Kerala's spider fauna at Mahatma Gandhi University and has led to the description of several new species, including Haploclastus devamatha and Neoheterophrictus chimminiensis. He leads a SERB-funded project that uses DNA barcoding to study the genetic diversity of Kerala's tarantulas, and is an active member of the International Society of Arachnology.

Companion blogs
Mygalomorph spiders of India Spiders of Kerala Tetragnathid spiders Orb web spiders Jumping spiders Crab spiders Indian Pisauridae Cob web spiders
Research projects

Two decades of funded fieldwork

Silk-lined burrow entrance of a mygalomorph spider among leaf litter
SERB · 2020–2023

Genetic diversity of mygalomorph spiders

Grant: ₹39,76,797

Funded by the Science and Engineering Research Board, this project examined the taxonomic, genetic and ecological diversity of mygalomorph spiders across Kerala's Western Ghats.

  • Documentation: 20 species across 11 genera, including new Plesiophrictus discoveries
  • New locations: range extensions for Heligmomerus barkudensis and Haploclastus kayi
  • Genetics: DNA barcodes for 12 species submitted to NCBI GenBank
  • Ecology: habitat assessments for 14 species across burrowing, arboreal and trapdoor types
  • Output: a 26-specimen referral collection, 17 papers, a public workshop and student internships
Dorsal view of a Poecilotheria tarantula specimen
UGC · 2013–2017

Theraphosid spiders of the Western Ghats

Grant: ₹11,61,800

This study documented 19 theraphosid species across seven genera, including Annandaliella, Haploclastus, Poecilotheria and Neoheterophrictus. About half of them are endemic to the Western Ghats.

  • Four new species: Annandaliella nigra (Thattekkad), Haploclastus devamatha (Kulathupuzha–Achankovil), Neoheterophrictus chimminiensis (Chimmini) and Sahydroaraneus sebastiani (Chimmini)
  • Range extensions: Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica to Chinnar and Thrigmopoeus truculentus to Kasargod
  • Conservation: habitat loss and the exotic pet trade in Poecilotheria flagged as priority threats
New to science

Species described from the lab

A selection of species named and formally described by the lab since 2007. Each one adds to the known arachnid fauna of the Western Ghats.

Haploclastus devamatha at its burrow entrance2014

Haploclastus devamatha

Prasanth & Sunil Jose, 2014
Theraphosidae

Named for Deva Matha College itself, this burrowing tarantula was described from Kulathupuzha in the Kollam forests. Living specimens show a striking bluish-violet iridescence.

Sahydroaraneus sebastiani at its burrow entrance2017

Sahydroaraneus sebastiani

Sunil Jose, 2017
Theraphosidae

Described from the moist deciduous forests of Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary and named in honour of the late Dr P. A. Sebastian, Dr Sunil Jose's doctoral supervisor and a formative figure in South Indian arachnology.

Conothele chinnarensis2021

Conothele chinnarensis

Sunil Jose, 2021
Halonoproctidae

The first record of the trapdoor genus Conothele from the Western Ghats. It builds silk-lined vertical burrows with a camouflaged D-shaped trapdoor in the dry scrub of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary.

Neoheterophrictus chimminiensis2020

Neoheterophrictus chimminiensis

Sunil Jose, 2020
Theraphosidae

A burrowing tarantula found beneath fallen logs in Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary, one of several range-restricted species that make the sanctuary a hotspot within a hotspot for mygalomorph diversity.

Yaginumaella aishwaryi2013

Yaginumaella aishwaryi

Sunil Jose, 2013
Salticidae

A jumping spider from the Western Ghats, set apart from its relatives in Yaginumaella by distinctive genitalic and spination characters.

Thelcticopis moolampilliensis2007

Thelcticopis moolampilliensis

Sunil Jose & Sebastian, 2007
Sparassidae

A huntsman spider first identified from Moolampilli in the Western Ghats. It hunts without a web and has the flattened body and long, spiny legs typical of the family.

Annandaliella ernakulamensis2008

Annandaliella ernakulamensis

Sunil Jose & Sebastian, 2008
Theraphosidae

Endemic to Ernakulam district, this nocturnal burrower is identified by a comb-like tibial apophysis and a row of stridulating spines on the chelicerae, used to produce sound.

Morphology and imaging

What a spider looks like up close

Species are told apart by tiny structures: the shape of a palp, the arrangement of eyes, the teeth along a fang groove. These multifocus microscope images, taken in the lab, show the features used in identification. Select an image to enlarge it.

Fieldwork

Where the spiders live

Most Indian tarantulas spend their lives in a burrow, under bark or inside a tree hollow, and are rarely seen. Finding them means walking forest tracks, reading the ground and checking every silk-edged hole.

Field sites

Forests the lab has surveyed

Hills and reservoir in the Western Ghats
Achankovil Reserve ForestAgasthyamalaChimmini Wildlife SanctuaryMalabar WLS and AralamNelliyampathyParambikulam Tiger ReservePeechiPeriyar Tiger ReserveShendurney Wildlife SanctuarySilent ValleyThekkadyWayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
Doctoral research

Trained in the lab

Each doctoral scholar learns the full workflow: finding the animals in the field, identifying them under the microscope, sequencing their DNA and presenting the results at international meetings.

Portrait of Prof. (Dr) Sunil Jose K

Prof. (Dr) Sunil Jose K

Principal Investigator & Professor of Zoology, Deva Matha College; doctoral research guide, Mahatma Gandhi University

Leads the lab's taxonomy, DNA barcoding and conservation work on the spiders of the Western Ghats, and supervises each of the scholars below.

Co-organiser, 6th ASA (Kochi, 2021) · Co-chair, Organising Committee, 23rd International Congress of Arachnology (ICA 2026), Kochi, 15–21 November 2026
Portrait of Aswathy S.

Aswathy S.

Systematics and natural history of Haploclastus spiders

Doctoral study of the burrowing tarantula genus Haploclastus, combining morphological redescription with field observation across its Western Ghats range.

7th ASA, Vietnam, October 2022
Portrait of Dr Reshmi Sekhar

Dr Reshmi Sekhar

Taxonomy and diversity of Theridiidae in Kerala

Documented 36 species across 16 genera of comb-footed spiders, 36% of India's known Theridiidae diversity, including three species new to science.

4th ASA, Chongqing 2017 · first record of Rhomphaea labiata from India
Portrait of Dr Anusmitha Domichan

Dr Anusmitha Domichan

Systematics and diversity of Linyphiidae in Central Kerala

Surveyed five districts and recorded 21 money-spider species across 13 genera. Thirteen species and seven genera were new to India, and four species were new to science.

Presented at the 7th ASA, Vietnam, October 2022

Anu Sebastian

Geospatial distribution, molecular phylogeny and ecological informatics of spiders of the family Sparassidae (Araneae) in the northern districts of Kerala

Doctoral study of the huntsman spiders of northern Kerala, combining distribution mapping, molecular phylogeny and ecological informatics.

Ongoing · since 2025
Research project assistants

Behind the field and bench work

Project-funded research assistants carried much of the day-to-day survey, specimen handling and documentation for the lab's grant projects.

Karthika K.

Research Assistant, SERB project on the genetic diversity of mygalomorph spiders in the Western Ghats of Kerala

Collected and documented mygalomorph specimens across Kerala's forest ranges, and co-authored distributional records of Annandaliella travancorica, Neoheterophrictus chimminiensis and N. crurofulvus.

Co-author on five papers, 2020–2022

Linta Joseph

Research Assistant; later research scholar (two years)

Worked for several years on the burrowing tarantula genus Annandaliella, first as a research assistant and then as a research scholar. Took part in the 2020–21 field surveys of Periyar Tiger Reserve, Gavi, Nelliyampathy and Shendurney, and compiled the Vallakkadavu range checklist.

Genus Annandaliella · Vallakkadavu checklist, 2022

M. T. Prasanth

Research Assistant, UGC-sponsored study of the theraphosid spiders of the Western Ghats (2013–16)

Worked on the lab’s first tarantula survey, collecting the type specimens of Haploclastus devamatha at Kulathupuzha in 2013 and co-describing the species. He also co-authored the 2015 redescription of Annandaliella travancorica.

Co-author, 2014 and 2015
On the road

International conferences, 2010–2025

Four International Congresses of Arachnology and seven Asian Conferences of Arachnology, across four continents, with the Western Ghats spiders as the subject.

InternationalCloser to home, India
Selected publications

Peer-reviewed work from the lab

  • 2022Karthika, K. & Sunil Jose, K. Distributional record of Annandaliella travancorica Hirst 1909 (Araneae: Theraphosidae) from Western Ghats of Kerala, India. Entomon 47(3): 333–336.
  • 2021Sunil Jose, K. A new species of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 (Araneae: Halonoproctidae) from Western Ghats, Kerala, India. Zoological Systematics 46(3): 258–263.
  • 2021Karthika, K. & Sunil Jose, K. Report of Neoheterophrictus chimminiensis Sunil Jose, 2020 from the Nelliyampathy forest region of Western Ghats, India. Entomon 46(4): 357–360.
  • 2021Karthika, K., Aswathy, S. & Sunil Jose, K. New distributional record of Neoheterophrictus crurofulvus (Araneae: Mygalomorphae) from Western Ghats, Kerala. Int. J. Entomology Research 6(3): 61–64.
  • 2021Sunil Jose, K. Slate-red tarantula (Poecilotheria rufilata) in the Western Ghats, India. Taprobanica 10(2): 123.
  • 2020Sunil Jose, K. A new species of megalomorph spider Neoheterophrictus from Western Ghats. Indian Journal of Entomology 81(4): 667–669.
  • 2020Aswathy, S., Sekhar, R. & Sunil Jose, K. Range extension of Parambikulam large burrowing spider Haploclastus kayi Gravely, 1915. Int. J. Entomology Research 5(5): 15–17.
  • 2017Sunil Jose, K. A new species of Sahydroaraneus (Theraphosidae) from Western Ghats of Kerala, India. J. Entomology and Zoology Studies 5(3): 186–189.
  • 2017Sunil Jose, K. Redescription of Haploclastus kayi Gravely, 1915 (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Biosystematica 10(1&2): 5–10.
  • 2017Sunil Jose, K. New records of Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica Smith, 2004 from Western Ghats, Kerala. Species 18(58): 57–61.
  • 2017Sunil Jose, K. Range extension of Thrigmopoeus truculentus Pocock, 1899 (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Munis Entomology & Zoology 12(2): 475–477.
  • 2015Sunil Jose, K. & Prasanth, M. T. New information on Annandaliella travancorica Hirst, 1909 from Western Ghats of India. Munis Entomology & Zoology 10(1): 188–193.
  • 2014Prasanth, M. T. & Sunil Jose, K. A new species of the genus Haploclastus from Western Ghats, India (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Munis Entomology & Zoology 9(1): 494–500.
  • 2011Sunil Jose, K. Redescription of Poecilotheria striata Pocock with notes on the distribution of other Poecilotheria from Kerala, India. Research Lines 4(1B): 46–52.
Resources

Papers, data and video

Consultancy

The lab offers species identification and microphotography services to researchers, forest departments and the public.

In the press
Student projects supported
For everyone

Why spiders deserve a second look

Spiders often get an undeserved bad reputation. A few species can harm people, but most are harmless and keep insect populations in check. Over 50,000 species are known worldwide and about 1,600 in India, which is probably only half of the country's true spider fauna.

Are the spiders of Kerala dangerous?

Most are not. Tarantulas and other burrowing spiders are shy and stay out of sight. They may bite if cornered or handled, and the bite can be painful, so never pick one up. If you are bitten and feel unwell, see a doctor.

I found a burrow or a big spider in my garden. What should I do?

Leave it where it is. Take a clear photo with something for scale, note the place and date, and send it to the lab. The lab's identification service can tell you what it is.

Why do these spiders need protection?

Many Western Ghats tarantulas live in only a few forests and nowhere else. Habitat loss and collection for the exotic pet trade are the main threats we have recorded, especially for Poecilotheria.

Can I keep a wild tarantula as a pet?

Please do not. Taking animals from forests harms small populations, and collecting inside protected areas needs permission from the Forest Department. The lab does not support wild collection for the pet trade.

How can I help the lab's work?

Send photos with the location and date, join a student field project or workshop, share what you learn here, and tell your forest officers that spiders matter.

Get in touch

For species identification, microphotography requests, collaboration or student projects, write to the lab. Please include clear photos, the location and the date.

arachnology@devamatha.ac.in
sunil.jose@devamatha.ac.in

Visit

Department of Zoology
Deva Matha College
Kuravilangad, Kottayam
Kerala 686633, India