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Needle-shaped spider spotted

Special Correspondent

RARE SPECIES: The spider that was spotted in a building in Peroorkada in the city .

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A rare species of spider, with body shaped like a needle pointed at both ends, has been spotted in a private building in Peroorkada in the city.

The spider, green in colour and about 4 cm long, was spotted by G. Jayaprakash, an entrepreneur in his showroom of palm products in Vazhayila. "The legs were folded close to the body while at rest and it looked just like a needle," he told The Hindu .

P.A. Sebastian of the Department of Zoology, Sacred Heart College, at Thevara in Kochi, when contacted, said that the spider could be a Tetragnatha javana of the family Tetragnathidae. The species is found in fields and among bushes even in urban areas in South India as well as in countries such as Sri Lanka, Japan and the Philippines.

This nocturnal spider is characterised by a long, tapering, pointed abdomen with spinnerets, which produce the web, in the middle. The species is also identified by the bright green on its sides and the reddish brown tint on the abdomen, colours that help it to remain camouflaged in the leaves.

Mr. Jayaprakash hopes to hand over the spider to zoologists who may be interested in studying it.

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