A rare wolf spider species thought extinct in the UK has been found alive on the Isle of Wight, thrilling conservationists.
The Aulonia albimana, now nicknamed the white-knuckled wolf spider for its pale leg joints, was rediscovered at the National Trust’s Newtown National Nature Reserve, more than a mile from where it was last recorded in 1985.
Entomologists Mark Telfer and Graeme Lyons made the find in the final minutes of their survey at the remote site, which is accessible only by boat. “To find a species thought lost for 40 years is thrilling,” Telfer said.
The rediscovery follows years of habitat restoration using Hebridean sheep to graze overgrown vegetation, creating the open, sunlit ground the tiny 4mm spider needs to survive.
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 population to ensure its survival.
