A tiny spider thought to be 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 leg joints, was found at the National Trust’s Newtown nature reserve, a remote site accessible only by boat.
Entomologists Mark Telfer and Graeme Lyons made the discovery just minutes before their pickup, spotting two spiders more than a mile from the species’ last known location, which was recorded in 1985.
The find came after years of habitat restoration, where Hebridean sheep were used to graze the overgrown grassland and recreate the spider’s preferred sunny, open terrain.
Helen Smith of the British Arachnological Society called the rediscovery “one of Britain’s lost species finds of the century.”
The next step for researchers is to assess the population’s size and ensure the conditions are right to secure its future.
