A rare spider thought extinct in the UK has been rediscovered on the Isle of Wight, delighting conservationists.
The Aulonia albimana, newly nicknamed the white-knuckled wolf spider for its pale leg joints and dramatic rediscovery, was found at the National Trust’s Newtown nature reserve, accessible only by boat.
Entomologists Mark Telfer and Graeme Lyons made the find with just minutes left before their pickup, spotting two individuals more than a mile from the spider’s last recorded colony in 1985.
Wolf spiders are ground hunters known for chasing prey, but the tiny 4mm-long Aulonia albimana also spins a delicate web, making its behaviour unique.
The rediscovery followed years of habitat restoration by the National Trust, whose grazing Hebridean sheep helped restore the short, sunlit turf the spider prefers.
Helen Smith of the British Arachnological Society called it “one of Britain’s lost species rediscoveries of the century.” Conservationists now plan to study the remaining population to help secure its future.
