"We’re just humble scientists, and we don’t really look for recognition," shares Dr Chelmala Srinivasulu, who headed a team of research scholars along with prime researcher GD Pravalika that discovered a new species of spiders found only in Karimnagar. The spider named after Telengana — Thomisus Telenganaensus or Telengana crab spider — is found nowhere else in the world.

"We first chanced upon this spider last year in Nagnur, Karimnagar during one of our research trips. The spider’s physical characteristics did not match with any other spider in India, but resembled another spider (Thomisus Labesactus) found in Japan. However, on further analysis of the internal and external genital structures, we found that it differed significantly," says Dr Srinivasulu, who is the head of the Wildlife Biology and Taxonomy Lab at the Osmania University’s Department of Zoology.

It was only after a year of the discovery that the spider was officially named. Intense bench work, studies and measurements of the spider were conducted which finally culminated in a consolidated report that was sent to a science journal, which in turn was subject to peer-reviewing by another team of scientists. The final step was sending the official name to the zoo bank — a repository of zoological names.

The spider is whitish in colour with an almost translucent body, and is predominantly found on flowers such as marigold and on bean plants. It moves sideways and has very large front legs that resemble the pincers of a crab; hence the name — crab spider. Body colour of the spider tends to vary, depending on the colour of the plant that it lives on. "These spiders are known as the ‘tigers among the insects’ and as the 'farmer’s friend' as they feed on other insects such as moths and butterflies that eat up crops, and hence they are a bio-controlling agent in agriculture," says Dr Srinivasulu.