Nemesia berlandi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Nemesiidae
Genus: Nemesia
Species:
N. berlandi
Binomial name
Nemesia berlandi
Frade & Bacelar, 1931[1]

Fagilde's trapdoor (Nemesia berlandi) or buraqueira-de-Fagilde in Portuguese, is one of the rarest animals on earth,[2] currently only known from Fagilde and the adjacent village of Vila Garcia,[3] both in the Mangualde municipality of the Beira Alta region of Portugal, in the isolated slopes of the River Dão valley.[1]

This species has not been scientifically recorded for nearly a century, since the first specimens were collected prior to 1931 for their scientific description,[1] and it is feared that the sole specimens known were destroyed in the great Bocage Museum fire of 1978.[4][5]

This species was described by the Portuguese science pioneer Amélia Bacelar and her husband, Fernando Frade.[1] The scientific name N. berlandi was chosen by the couple to honor their colleague Lucien Berland, from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.[1] The common name is a reference to the site where it was originally found, in Fagilde.[1]

A unique attribute is that they build their nests horizontally unlike other species of trapdoor spider.[6] According to Re:wild, males of this species tap dance to attract mates.[6] This species is on Re:wild's Search For Lost Species, it became lost around 1931 and was rediscovered in 2023, using DNA to rule out other species in the region.[6]

Rediscovery and conservation

Trapdoor spiders are one of the conservation priorities for the International Union for Conservation of Nature,[7] and local efforts are underway to protect Fagilde's trapdoor.[6] In 2022 it was the only European species and the first spider, to be included in Re:wild's Lost Species list,[3] a project that selected the top 25 most wanted species in the world, as no record of Fagilde's trapdoor has been made in nearly a century.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frade, M. F.; Bacelar, F. (1931). "Révision des Nemesia de la faune ibérique et description d'espèces nouvelles de ce genre". Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. 2. 3 (2): 222–238 [234].
  2. ↑ "Aranha rara, "desaparecida" há 92 anos, redescoberta numa aldeia da Beira Alta". www.publico.pt. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  3. 1 2 3 "Re:wild's Search for Lost Species". www.rewild.org. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  4. ↑ "Museu Bocage / Um Museu Colonial". www.triplov.com. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  5. ↑ "A web of mystery: In search of the lost Fagilde's Trapdoor Spider". www.rewild.org. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Lost tap-dancing spider rediscovered barricaded in a burrow in a small Portuguese town after 92 years". www.rewild.org. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  7. ↑ "The segmented trapdoor spiders, an EDGE species". www.iucn.org. Retrieved 2023-12-29.


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