Nestled in the mist-draped hills of the Western Ghats near Mudigere in the Chikkamagaluru District of Karnataka, researchers have uncovered a quiet marvel: a species of jumping spider belonging to the little-known genus Pilia, now formally named Pilia malenadu.

The genus, established in 1902, had remained a mystery for over a century, its members known only from male specimens and largely absent from modern surveys. This discovery writes a new chapter not just for Indian arachnology, but for the biodiversity story of one of the planet’s richest ecosystems.

A century-old genus revived

The genus Pilia had been listed in taxonomic records but effectively forgotten in the field. Until now. When scientists ventured into the moist tropical forests of Malenadu – literally “rainy land" in Kanna

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