Extinct Arachnids

The arachnids, are a class (Arachnida) of joint-legged invertebrate animals in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnids are named after the Greek mythological figure Arachne. They are chiefly terrestrial arthropods, comprising some 65,000 to 73,000 named species including spiders, scorpions, harvestmen, ticks, and mites. Arachnids may be easily distinguished from insects by the fact that arachnids have eight legs whereas insects have six. These creatures have much more to fear from us than we do from them.

Although the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has not listed any arachnid as extinct, that does not mean there aren't some. For example it has been estimated that three spider species are going extinct each year. We know so little about how many arachnids there are, and where and when they can be found, that it is difficult to know which species are threatened and which may already be extinct. 
Extinct Species (4) Extinct Subspecies (0) Missing (0)
Extinct in the Wild (0) Not Recognised (0) Other Animal Groups

 

Species (4) / Subspecies (0)
Scientific Name Common Name TEW Status IUCN Status
Diplaegidia gladiator Passenger Pigeon Mite EX Not Listed
Hadronyche pulvinator Cascade Funnelweb Spider EX Not Listed
The Cascade Funnelweb Spider was first described by Hickman in 1926. He found two spider burrows in soft soil near the bank of a creek in the Cascades area near Hobart (Tasmania, Australia). One burrow was about 18cm deep with a silken tube inside. He sketched the burrow, an egg capsule, the spiders eyes and also the adult. Currently it is listed as presumed to be extinct in the schedules of the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995. There have been no other sightings or records of this spider for over 50 years. The place where it was found has now been destroyed through suburban growth. (Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service 2006)
Halarachne americana  Caribbean Monk Seal Nasal Mite EX Not Listed
The only parasite identified from the extinct Caribbean Monk Seal (Monachus tropicalis) is the nasal mite Halarachne americana, recovered in great numbers and in all stages of its life cycle from the respiratory passages of a single captive specimen. H. americana is only known from the Caribbean Monk Seal, and after the extinction of the seal in 1952 (last confirmed sighting) this mite has become extinct too. (Adam 2004)
Thermacarus nevadensis Nevada Water Mite EX Not Listed