Dorset Mesh-weaver (Altella lucida)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > spider (Araneae) > Spider |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered/Possibly Extinct (Not Relevant) [CR(PE)(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: | Altella lucida |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Simon, 1874) |
| 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 (PE), criteria: B1ab(iv)+2ab(iv): rediscovered at a new site in 2023 after a gap of 51 years and so will lose (PE) status at next review. Confined to S England. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Extremely rare relative to perceived habitat. Urgent need for better understanding of status/autecology. |
| 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: | Low - Combination or other (detail in comments) |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Probably troglophilic with possibility of underrecording. Found in damp soil cavities under embedded stones and dry algal mats in otherwise hot, dry situations: bare sandy heathland and cliff top. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Targeted re-survey of former and nearby sites, using 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: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Morden Heath, similar S heaths, vicinity of 2023 Cornish location
Comments: Thoroughly search of cliffs within 5 miles of 2023 Cornish location. Significant H&S issues with survey for this species - best practise for cliff top sites to be strictly observed.
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: 1 site
High priority sites: 2023 Cornish location
Comments: Add other sites if discovered/rediscovered elsewhere (Action 1). Develop better survey methods (e.g. subterranean pitfall trapping) as part of study.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Ensure site managers are aware of species past/recent presence and vulnerability on their sites. Update them with Action 1 and 2 results to provide any resulting guidance on locations/management and inform commissioning of invertebrate survey work (methods likely to detect/damage species, need for retention and examination of spider by-catch when not a survey target)
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: Unknown
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: 2023 Cornish location
Comments: Add any new sites resulting from Action 1. Assemble mailing list and update site managers at species-appropriate intervals; most easily delivered by BAS/SRS.
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.