Spider Feared Extinct In The UK For 27 Years Rediscovered

One of the U.K.'s most endangered spiders has been spotted for the first time in 27 years.

Several species are facing the threat of extinction on our planet, but there are some instances when a species that has been feared extinct for many years gets rediscovered. Earlier this year, for instance, researchers discovered that the ancient "singing dogs" believed to be extinct for 50 years were actually doing well.

This is also the case for one of the largest spider species in the U.K. The great fox-spider, which was thought to be extinct, was rediscovered at a training area of the U.K's Ministry of Defense recently.

In a news release, the Surrey Wildlife Trust, which rediscovered the species, said that great fox-spiders were considered "critically endangered" after there were no sightings of the species in the last 27 years.

"Feared extinct in UK, the Great Fox-Spider hadn't been seen for 27 years. But Mike Waite, our #spider expert, never gave up hope of rediscovering one of UK's largest spiders," Surrey Wildlife Trust said in a tweet.

"He spent many hours of late-night searching with a torch over the last two years," Surrey Wildlife Trust said in the news release, noting that the late-night excursions led to the discovery of spiderlings, several mature males and one female spider.

The area where they were rediscovered is considered a nationally important site where animal populations are protected from human activity.

"The spider is at the very edge of its range in the UK, which accounts for its super rarity here," Mike Waite, a spider expert, said in the news release. "I am naturally over-the-moon to have finally proved the continued existence of the Great Fox-Spider in the U.K.."

Waite is continuing his expeditions to find out whether the species is more widespread in the U.K. than previously believed, The Guardian reported.

"It seems to be the most important thing I've done in a long career," Waite told the outlet. "It has inspired me to make something of it and find out as much as I can about this species in the U.K."

The great fox-spider (Alopecosa fabrilis) is a large wolf spider species that has also been spotted in other places including France, Belgium the Netherlands and Germany, the British Arachnological Society said. In the U.K., it has been recorded only in three locations.

Considered as one of the largest spiders in the U.K., great fox-spiders are said to be opportunistic predators that hunt at night. Instead of using webs, like other spiders do, great fox-spiders pounce on their prey and inject them with deadly venom that immobilizes them and liquefies their internal organs.

Though they may sound fearsome, the great-fox spiders pose no danger to humans.