A tiny spider believed extinct in the UK has been rediscovered on the Isle of Wight, thrilling conservationists.
The Aulonia albimana, now nicknamed the white-knuckled wolf spider for its pale palps and the tense race to find it, was spotted at the National Trust’s Newtown nature reserve, accessible only by boat.
Entomologists Mark Telfer and Graeme Lyons found the spider in the final minutes of their four-hour survey — the first confirmed sighting since 1985. “To find a species thought lost for 40 years is thrilling,” said Telfer.
The discovery was made in an area restored by grazing Hebridean sheep, which maintain the short, open turf the species needs.
Helen Smith of the British Arachnological Society called it “one of Britain’s lost species rediscoveries of the century.”
Conservationists will now study the spider’s population and habitat to ensure its survival.
