A rare spider thought to be extinct in the UK has been found again on the Isle of Wight after vanishing for four decades.
The Aulonia albimana, now nicknamed the “white-knuckled wolf spider” for its pale leg joints, was rediscovered by entomologists Mark Telfer and Graeme Lyons at the National Trust’s Newtown nature reserve, a site reachable only by boat.
The tiny spider, just 4mm long, was last recorded in 1985. Lyons spotted two specimens in dramatic fashion — one with nine minutes left in their survey, and another just before departure.
The species, part of the wolf spider family, hunts on the ground but also spins delicate webs. Its habitat had disappeared due to overgrowth, but restoration efforts using Hebridean sheep grazing helped recreate the open, sunlit turf it needs.
Conservationists hailed the rediscovery as “one of Britain’s lost species finds of the century.” The National Trust will now study the population and habitat conditions to help the spider thrive again.
