AHMEDABAD: Dhruv Prajapati, a researcher with Gujarat Ecological Education & Research (GEER) foundation, has named a new species of spider discovered by him after Kashmiri Lance Naikh Nazir Ahmad Wani. The martyred Indian soldier was posthumously awarded Ashok Chakra in 2019.
Prajapati (28), who has earned the sobriquet of ‘Gujarat's spiderman' for his passionate research on the eight-legged creatures, has named his 13th new species discovery as 'Uroballus Nazirwanii'. The paper is published in the England journal ‘Arachnology' which is known for its spider taxonomy. Earlier, Prajapati had dedicated his discoveries after former Indian President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Sachin Tendulkar.
“The specific epithet is a tribute to the hero of India, Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, AC, a soldier of the Indian Territorial Army. He was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra ( for his actions in several major counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir,” stated Prajapati in his research paper.
Prajapati said that Wani, a terrorist, became a counter-insurgent after he realised the futility of violence. Wani Joined 162 Infantry Battalion, a Territorial Army battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, in 2004 and was awarded Sena Medal in 2008 and 2018.
“People remember Burhan Wani (slain commander of militant organization Hizbul Mujahideen, active in Kashmir) but few countrymen know of Nazir and his service and sacrifice for India.”, said Prajapati who had identified 77 species of spiders in Gujarat University as a student. His's discovery dates back to his stint as a researcher with the Sacred Heart College, Kerala. His colleague Jobi Malamel had found the spider and gave it to him for research which he studied under his teacher Pothalil Sebastian.
Uroballus Nazirwanii species has a unique structure of reproductive organs of a male and has a unique teeth which is different from other two members of the same genus, Prajapati said.