Exotic JUMPING spiders found in UK – as Brits warned of invasion of never-seen-before species

 A NEW jumping spider species previously unknown to science has been discovered in the UK.

No record of the exotic species, named the Anasaitis milesae, has been found anywhere in the world.

They are jumping spiders, meaning they are capable of spectacular leaps when pouncing on their prey or escaping from danger. 

The critters are related to other species known in the Caribbean, so experts believe the spiders arrived in the UK on imported plants.

Several of the tiny jumping spiders, along with 500 other species, were collected during the annual BioBlitz nature survey last year at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall.

Spider experts believed the species was unlikely to be limited to just Cornwall – so they sent them to Dmitri Logunov, Europe’s leading jumping spider expert, at the Manchester Museum.

However, it was confirmed that this particular species had only been spotted in the coastal county and nowhere else in the world.

Co-organiser Finley Hutchinson, a BSc Conservation Biology and Ecology student at the University of Exeter, said: “I hadn’t seen anything like them before, and neither had Cornish spider expert Tylan Berry.

“So Tylan went out and found some more later the same day, and he and I collected many more from tree ferns near Lime Avenue on campus a couple of weeks later.”

After the specimens were sent to Logunov, it was quickly confirmed they matched nothing in Europe.

There’s very little we can do to stop spiders from arriving

Dr Helen Smith,British Arachnological Society

Finley explained: “The jumping spider family is the largest in the world, so narrowing it down beyond that took much longer.

“However, eventually, he identified them as a member of the Caribbean genus Anasaitis, but they are not a known species.

“Strangely, this species has not been formally identified in its native range – so the only records in the world are on the Penryn Campus and another recent record in Penzance.”

Although there is no common name for the species, Terry calls it the “Tremough Jumper”.

“It’s quite amazing that a new species to science has been found in the UK,” Terry said.

“This very rarely happens in modern times as the county is very well studied as far as spiders go.

“Who knew a pretty little 4mm jumping spider would be hiding in front of our eyes?”

FUTURE SPIDER HOTSPOTS

Britain should expect to notice more of these previously unseen tropical species thanks to a warming climate and international trade.

Dr Helen Smith, conservation officer for the British Arachnological Society, said, “There’s very little we can do to stop spiders from arriving. 

She told the Guardian that, “Tied into the warming of the climate, different species can take hold in particular areas and change ecosystems quite quickly.” 

Cornwall and Devon are hotspots for new spiders, thanks to their ports and mild climate, with the absence of frost in some areas allowing exotic species to survive the British winter.

But according to Dr Helen, these invasive spider species compete with Britain’s native spiders for prey and living space.

“As new, exotic species spread, particularly beyond urban areas, the chances of them impacting on less common native species increase,” she said.

Around 15 percent of our native spider species are already threatened with extinction due to habitat loss and climate change.

The arrival of these other species, which are better adapted to warmer temperatures, could speed up the demise of our British arachnids.