The spruce-fir moss spider, one of the world's smallest tarantulas, was first discovered in the Smokies on Mount LeConte in 1926. The species lives almost exclusively in high-elevation spruce-fir forests, such as the Smokies or on North Carolina's Mount Mitchell.
In 1995, the spider was added to the federal endangered species list after the balsam woolly adelgid wiped out much of the Fraser fir trees in the Southern Appalachians.
The Knoxville News Sentinel has an article on biologist Glenn Taylor who is surveying the spruce-fir moss spider in the Smokies. Please click here to read.
In addition to the spruce-fir moss spider, there are 10 other threatened or endangered species (birds, fish, mammals, plants) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park:
* Indiana bat (endangered)
* Carolina northern flying squirrel (endangered)
* Red-cockaded woodpecker (endangered)
* Spotfin chub (threatened)
* Duskytail darter (endangered)
* Smoky madtom (endangered)
* Yellowfin madtom (threatened)
* Spreading avens (endangered)
* Virginia spiraea (threatened)
* Rock gnome lichen (endangered)
Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.
Hiking Tours