SPECIES DISTRIBUTION OF SPIDERS IN BARPETA DISTRICT OF ASSAM: A DIVERSITY MEASURE.

The study of spider fauna of state Assam has not been comprehensively carried out. Our present work has been an attempt to provide relevant information regarding spiders, which would be the baseline documentation for the future studies in the state Assam or for Northeastern part of the nation. The study area, Barpeta district of the state Assam, lies between Latitudes 26 0 5’ N to 26 0 49’ N and Longitudes 90 0 39’E to 91 0 17’E covering an area of 3245 sq Km. A survey was carried out during June 2008 to May 2011 in different ecosystem of this area to assess the spider diversity. Many specimens were collected by visual search methods and preserved in 70% ethyl alcohol .The specimens were identified in Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. This paper has been started with the spider distribution in the district and concluded with the alpha, beta and gamma diversity estimation. It is documented that 69 spider species from different habitats of the different blocks of Barpeta District .