Duffey's Bell-head Spider (Praestigia duffeyi)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > spider (Araneae) > Spider |
| Red List Status: | Endangered (Not Relevant) [EN(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | Baryphyma duffeyi |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Praestigia duffeyi |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Millidge, 1954 |
| 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: | EN, criteria: B2ab(ii,iii): still appears to be in severe decline (only recorded from 2/12 hectads since 2000). Entirely restricted to the SE coast of England. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Absent from many apparently suitable sites |
| 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: | Restricted to tidal litter and mud under saltmarsh vegetation, usually in the higher tidal reaches of river estuaries |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Targeted re-survey of all 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: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Iken/Havergate, Suffolk and, with particular focus (with respect to Action 3), the Stour Marshes, Essex and Thames Gateway marshes
Comments: Because of increasing threats to saltmarshes within its range, requires ongoing monitoring with feedback to relevant parties (Actions 2 & 3)
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Provide distribution data (Action 1) to integrate into coastal defence and realignment plans throughout its range.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: East coast saltmarshes from N Kent to S Suffolk
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Consider the potential to improve site protection from urban/ commercial/ recreational development.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Site protection
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: East coast saltmarshes from N Kent to S Suffolk.
Comments: Implementation needs input from results Action 1. Note action in common with Arctosa fulvolineata and Heliophanus auratus.
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.