The Kangaroo Island Assassin Spider (Zepyrarchaea austini) is only found in north west Kangaroo Island and was devastatingly impacted by the 2019-2020 fires, with the only site it was known from burnt at high severity. Post-fire surveys were successful in locating the species and it is now only known from two sites, around 4 km from the previously known site. These sites are in the largest remaining patch of long unburnt vegetation in north west KI and are around 2.4 km apart from each other, along the same creekline and connected by contiguous vegetation. Although there is still a lot of ground to cover and survey effort needed, we have so far been unable to detect the species elsewhere.

The potential for a fire catastrophically impacting the species is exceptionally high. In order to inform potential future conservation efforts, such as in situ or ex situ conservation, it is essential we gather information to better understand the species range and critical habitat, and the threats that are impacting it.