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,
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.
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Around 15 per cent of our native spider species are already threatened with extinction as a result of 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.
Has anyone in the UK died from a spider bite?
In 2014, it was reported that an elderly woman from Hampshire, may have been the first person in the UK known to have died due to a spider bite.
The arachnid bit Pat Gough-Irwin, 60, on the tip of her finger at her home in Aldershot just days before she died, the Independent reported at the time.
Doctors eventually looked into the link between her death and the spider bite, but it ultimately proved inconclusive.
However, in 2021 alone, there were a number of serious injuries caused by venomous spiders – such as the the false widow.
One woman almost lost her hand, while another man was left with a gaping hole in his leg after a bite attack.
What do spider bites look like?
Spider bites vary hugely depending which species is responsible for the deed.
Thankfully, generally speaking, for most bites you won’t be able to tell immediately that it’s a spider, and could be confused with bed bugs, mosquitoes or any other small critter.
However, if you are bitten by a false widow for example, you could have a small hole or the sting itself may also be visible.