Great Fox-spider (Alopecosa fabrilis)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > spider (Araneae) > Spider |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered (Not Relevant) [CR(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Alopecosa fabrilis |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Clerck, 1757) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Harvey et al., 2017 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | CR, criteria: B2ab(iv): rediscovered at one, and close to other, former site/s since 2017 review. Confined to the S English heaths. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Range very restricted even within apparently suitable habitat |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | This species would not benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Rediscovered at Hankley Common (Surrey) and discovered at Great Ovens Hill (Dorset). Recent improvements in survey technique are likely to clarify status and inform actions in next few years. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Targeted re-survey of former and nearby sites, using newly-developed, standardised methodology to assess current status (and establish baseline for national monitoring programme)
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Hankley, Frensham and surround heaths, Surrey; Morden, Bloxworh and surrounding heaths, Dorset.
Comments: New developments in survey techniques to be used. Current plans to train volunteers surveyor teams
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Autecological research to better characterise habitat requirements and inform management
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Hankely/Frensham Commons
Comments: Will form part of a 3-year evaluation of possible translocations in the event of Action 1 not revealing further sites.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Habitat expansion, enhancement and defragmentation to improve connectivity between existing sites
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat creation
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Surrey 'Heathland Connections' LR scheme area, Morden and Great Ovens Heaths.
Comments: Action likely to be largely absorbed in planned wider landscape recovery work
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.