Rare Spider Found in Portugal after Disappearing for 92 Years

A spider, Nemesia berlandi, has been found in Portugal, which scientists have not seen since the discovery of this species in 1931. Researchers have been searching for it for two years, re:wild reports.

Nemesia berlandi was first described in 1931 by entomologist Amelia Bacelar. She was able to study only females of this species. At the same time, the only specimens of the spider burned down in 1978 during a fire in a museum.

For 92 years, scientists have not seen either a male or a female of this species. The search for Nemesia berlandi is particularly difficult because these spiders can stay in their "homes" for years.

The expedition, led by the Indianapolis Zoo's Global Species Survival Centre, was conducted around and within the village of Fagilde, in northern Portugal.

Nemesia berlandi spiders live in horizontal burrows under leaf litter. Therefore, from August 2021 to November 2023, the researchers checked the spider burrows.

In the hope of luring males of this species, they also created artificial spider webs. To reproduce, males gently tap their feet on the "hatch" to the female's burrow. If she likes it, she opens it and mating takes place.

In 2021, the researchers found a Nemesia berlandi burrow 10 centimetres long and with a 2.5-centimetre diameter "hatch". They carefully excavated it and found a female with 10 baby spiders. It had the same patterns on its body as the one found in 1931.

To confirm that it was N. berlandi, the team conducted DNA analysis. To do this, the researchers took one of the spider's legs, which are detached from the body to protect it from predators and grow back later.

The results showed that the spider found does not genetically match any other known spider species in the area. Therefore, it is the same Nemesia berlandi.

Now scientists are faced with the task of protecting this species. Due to climate change, their habitat is becoming increasingly prone to forest fires.

For the first time in 87 years, the de Winton's golden mole, which was considered extinct, was recorded in South Africa. It took a team of ecologists and geneticists from the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the University of Pretoria two years to find this species.