A tiny spider thought to be extinct in the UK has been found again on the Isle of Wight after four decades.
The Aulonia albimana, newly dubbed the white-knuckled wolf spider for its pale markings, was rediscovered by entomologists Mark Telfer and Graeme Lyons during a survey at the National Trust’s Newtown nature reserve — a site only reachable by boat.
The species was last recorded in 1985 and had been feared lost. Lyons spotted the first specimen with just minutes left before their scheduled pickup. “To find a species thought lost for 40 years is thrilling,” said Telfer.
The rediscovery followed habitat restoration efforts involving Hebridean sheep, which maintain the short, sunlit turf the spiders prefer.
Helen Smith of the British Arachnological Society called it “one of Britain’s lost species rediscoveries of the century.” Conservationists will now study the population to help secure the spider’s future.
