If you ask those suffering from arachnophobia, they'll be hard pushed to label something scarier than spiders. However, if you tell them a species that was thought to be extinct has since 'returned from the dead', then I reckon they'd concede.
Don't get me wrong we're not entering some kind of real life Eight Legged Freaks where spiders grow to monumental proportions, however the diamond spider being seen for the first time in 50 years is pretty scary.
According to Metro, the diamond spider was last seen in Britain in 1969, and since then has been recorded as either extremely rare or extinct.
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Credit: National Trust
However, now Two National Trust volunteers, Lucy Stockton and Trevor Harris, have found one while searching in heathland at Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire.
Stockton said: "The spider ran away from me twice but with persistence and some luck I caught it; at the time I had no idea that it would turn out to be such a rare find.
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"Upon closer inspection our spider had a conspicuous 'cardiac mark', a black diamond shape on its abdomen, edged with white that helped us to identify it.
"We were thrilled to have discovered this new resident of Clumber Park and to prove that this species is definitely not extinct in the UK."
It's not as if we're dealing with some kind of resurrection zombie spider type thing, so there's no need to worry about some form of apocalypse. On the contrary, prior to 1969 when it was presumed dead, they were hard to come by.
Up until then there were reportedly only three records of the arachnid, all of which were in the south England.
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Trevor Harris and Lucy Stockton. Credit: National Trust
Also known as the Thanatus formicinus, it's been seen in Legsheath, Ashdown Forest, New Forest and most recently Clumber Park where there's moss, purple moor grass and heather, the spider's habitat.
"We are absolutely delighted that this pretty little spider has been re-found, we had almost given up hope," Matt Shardlow, Chief Executive of Buglife, told the paper.
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Conservation Officer of the British Arachnological Society Dr Helen Smith added: "This species is classified as 'Critically Endangered', and it was thought possible that it had become extinct in Britain - its conservation at Clumber is now a very high priority.
"The discovery highlights both the importance of the Clumber heathlands and the invaluable contribution made by volunteers in recording spiders and providing the information needed to help conserve our rarest species."
It's nice that there's people who think it's a positive thing when spiders are found, I guess.
Featured Image Credit: National Trust