Aulonia albimana rediscovered on Isle of Wight

A tiny, critically endangered spider not seen in the United Kingdom since 1985 has been rediscovered at the Newtown National Nature Reserve on the Isle of Wight, conservationists said. Entomologists Mark Telfer and Graeme Lyons found Aulonia albimana, a small orange-legged wolf spider informally dubbed the whiteknuckled wolf spider, during a targeted survey as part of the Rare Invertebrate Species Recovery Project.

The pair located the spiders in a remote, overgrown area of the reserve accessible only by boat, roughly 2 kilometers from the species' known former colony. The rediscovery came during a short visit to the site: Telfer and Lyons spent about four hours searching, and Lyons said he found the first individual with nine minutes remaining and a second in the final minute. The spiders have been digitally photographed for the first time in the UK, providing the team with verifiable records to support ongoing monitoring.

Conservationists credit years of habitat restoration at Newtown for creating the conditions that allowed the species to return. The National Trust, which manages the reserve, and partners in a Natural England-led programme have used targeted grazing,...