The Tiny, Pretty Diamond Spider Isn't Extinct After All

An elusive spider that was believed to be extinct in Britain has been spotted for the first time in nearly 50 years, according to The Telegraph.

Pretty little Thanatus formicinus—more commonly known as the diamond spider—is just a third of an inch long and gets its name from the thin black diamond on its hairy gray abdomen. The spider typically lives in damp areas with moss and flowering plants, like heather and purple moor grass. But since the arachnid was last spotted in England’s Ashdown Forest in 1969, conservationists assumed that it had fallen victim to habitat loss.

Turns out, the spider wasn’t extinct—it was just laying low for a few decades. While conducting an ecological survey of Clumber Park—an expanse of heath, woods, and parkland in Nottinghamshire—two volunteers with England’s National Trust conservation organization recently spotted the long-lost arachnid.

“The spider ran away from me twice, but with persistence and some luck, I caught it,” said Lucy Stockton, the National Trust volunteer who sighted the arachnid along with companion Trevor Harris.

The duo’s discovery in Clumber Park marks just the fourth time the spider had ever been recorded in the UK, and the only time it's been seen in the north of the country. “We are absolutely delighted that this pretty, little spider has been re-found, we had almost given up hope,” commented Mark Shardlow, the chief executive of Buglife, an English conservation group. “It is a testament to the crucial importance of charities like the National Trust saving and managing heathland habitats.”