{"id":36755,"date":"2024-03-20T12:54:50","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T11:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/0e7f2551-96a2-4df9-bba6-d87e489a2e98"},"modified":"2024-03-20T13:35:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T12:35:40","slug":"new-species-tiny-jumping-spider-found-wandering-around-a-university-campus-in-england","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/new-species-tiny-jumping-spider-found-wandering-around-a-university-campus-in-england\/","title":{"rendered":"New species! Tiny jumping spider found wandering around a university campus in England"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new non-native species of jumping spider less than 3mm long has been found walking around the grounds of the University of Exeter\u2019s Penryn campus in Cornwall. <\/p>

By Stuart Blackman\n <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 20 March 2024 at 11:54 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Anasaitis milesae<\/em> is less than 3mm long; this new species of jumping spider is clearly easy to miss. And yet it\u2019s not hard to find, if you know where to look.<\/p>

The tiny arachnid was found on the grounds of the University of Exeter\u2019s campus in Penryn, Cornwall. <\/p>

\u201cThis doesn\u2019t happen very often,\u201d says Tylan Berry, the British Arachnological Society<\/a>\u2019s Devon and Cornwall area organiser. <\/p>

\u201cBritain is one of the best-scoured countries in the world for arachnids.\u201d He explains that it can be found in good numbers by beating the lower branches of trees and shrubs over a sheet. It has since turned up at a second site 30 miles away.<\/p>

Do jumping spiders dream?<\/a><\/li>
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Where and when to see spider webs in the UK<\/a><\/li>
Truth or fiction: false widow spiders are a danger to children<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
Anasaitis milesae (female) is less than 3mm in length. Credit: Tylan Berry<\/figcaption><\/figure>
How was Anasaitis milesae<\/em> found?<\/h3>At a Bioblitz<\/a> event organised by students to engage the public in species identification, Berry was handed a spider he didn\u2019t recognise. \u201cAfter months of research, it was definitely nothing European. The search widened until I\u2019d exhausted my expertise.\u201d So he passed it on to Dmitri Logunov, a jumping-spider specialist at the Manchester Museum. \u201cAnd here we are, a year later, with a new species.\u201d<\/p>
14 incredible spider facts you probably didn’t know<\/a><\/li>
World’s most venomous spiders<\/a><\/li>
Do spiders have teeth?<\/a><\/li>
Can spiders fish<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
$\"Anasaitis$
Anasaitis milesae (male seen here) was discovered during a Bioblitz event at Penryn campus in Cornwall. Credit: Tylan Berry<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Is this jumping spider unique to Britain?<\/h3>
Only in the sense that it hasn\u2019t been found anywhere else yet. It is unlikely to be native to these islands. Its closest relatives live in the West Indies, from where it was probably introduced with imported plants.<\/p>
$\"Anasaitis$
The new species of jumping spider was probably introduced via imported plants from the West Indies. Credit: Tylan Berry<\/figcaption><\/figure>
What’s the meaning behind the scientific name?<\/h3>
Logunov named the spider after his Manchester Museum colleague Claire Miles, a natural historian and honorary curator, who died last year.<\/p>
Read more about the study:\u00a0 bioone.org\/journals\/arachnology<\/a><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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Is this jumping spider unique to Britain?<\/h3>Only in the sense that it hasn\u2019t been found anywhere else yet. It is unlikely to be native to these islands. Its closest relatives live in the West Indies, from where it was probably introduced with imported plants.<\/p>

What’s the meaning behind the scientific name?<\/h3>Logunov named the spider after his Manchester Museum colleague Claire Miles, a natural historian and honorary curator, who died last year.<\/p>