"Highland"

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DATE: ANIMAL: LOCATION:
26th December 2002 SPIDER Strathspey

 


Strathspey
SPIDER (Wabasso quaestio)

Female of the species
The female of the money spider species, Wabasso quaestio, has been discovered on an RSPB nature reserve in the Scottish Highlands. The precise site is the Insh Marshes reserve in Strathspey. It is the first time the 1.5 mm long female has been found in Britain. The male was first found here in 1999, having been discovered in Northern Canada in the 1930s and subsequently in other northern regions around the world. The Scottish site is the most southerly siting point to date.

Ian Dawson of the RSPB, said: "We've known about the presence of the male spiders for some years now, but no-one has ever found the female of the species which has baffled us. "Now we can confirm their presence at our Insh Marshes Reserve. We are quite relieved for the males, knowing they have company." Dawson has made another rare discovery at Insh Marshes, finding one of Britain's two endemic species of spider - Semljicola caliginosus. This is only found in a few scattered regions of Scotland and northern England.

26th December 2002
(Source: Ananova News)

Written by: Paul Williams

File: 2002-152
Ref: 1218


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