Researchers found the aulonia albimana, otherwise known as the white-knuckled wolf spider, at the National Trust's Newtown nature reserve on the Isle of Wight
An incredibly rare breed of spider was spotted for the first time in decades in the United Kingdom.
Measuring in at under a quarter of an inch, a species of wolf spider called aulonia albimana, otherwise known as the white-knuckled wolf spider, was rediscovered by researchers, according to reporting by the BBC and The Guardian.
The spider was found at the National Trust's Newtown nature reserve on the Isle of Wight, which can only be reached via boat. The remote area is roughly a mile away from where the tiny spiders were last spotted in 1985.
Entomologists Mark Telfer and Graeme Lyons carried out the search, with the latter revealing that they found the first spider "with just nine minutes to go" before they were due to be picked up by a boat taking them back to the mainland, according to The Guardian.
A second spider was discovered mere minutes later.
The white-knuckled wolf spider is one of 38 species of wolf spiders that live in the U.K. They are remarkable based on their size and the orange legs. Their name was "inspired by the distinctive pale 'knuckles' on the small leg-like appendages at the side of the spider's mouth," the outlet reported.
Little is known about how the spiders hunt, with both outlets noting that the spiders are known for having a "flimsy web."
The area of the Isle of Wight was restored via collaboration with the National Trust, who use Hebridean sheep to return the landscape to what it was before. The breed of spider is fond of "short, open turf," which creates "exactly the kind of patchy, sunlit ground" it needs to flourish, per The Guardian.
"I've seen 559 species of spider in the British Isles and this one was by far the most exciting find," Lyons gushed about the discovery.
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Telfer seemingly agreed, saying, "To find a species thought lost for 40 years is thrilling," adding that it was also "testament to how the right habitat management, combined with curiosity and collaboration, can deliver remarkable results."
Dr. Helen Smith, conservation officer for the British Arachnological Society, also enthused about the discovery, noting that there had been "repeated failure" to find the spider over the years.
Before the find, she said, "It seemed increasingly likely that it had joined the country's sad list of extinct species." Smith even referred to it as "one of Britain's epic 'lost species' rediscoveries of the century."
Now that the tiny white-knuckled wolf spider has been found again, the next step is to determine how many of them are around. Smith said that they will then do what they must to "secure its future."