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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynae » Wolf Spiders (Lycosidae) » Arctosa

Genus Arctosa

Classification · Pronunciation · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Range · Works Cited

Spider under a rock - Arctosa littoralis

Pardosa? Looks more colorful than others. Nope - Arctosa littoralis

black/blue wasp dragging spider across sand - Arctosa littoralis

small pale-brown spider - Arctosa littoralis

from Nova Scotia - Arctosa littoralis - female

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)

Class Arachnida (Arachnids)

Order Araneae (Spiders)

Infraorder Araneomorphae (True Spiders)

No Taxon (Entelegynae)

Family Lycosidae (Wolf Spiders)

Genus Arctosa

Pronunciation

ahrk-TO-sah(1)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Arctosa C.L. Koch, 1847

Explanation of Names

Arctosa C.L. Kᴏᴄʜ 1847a:123 (Lycosidae)

Formed to rhyme with Lycosa Lᴀᴛʀᴇɪʟʟᴇ, but with the first element from the Greek masculine noun for bear. This is the earliest of a series of Lycosid names formed with the name of a predatory animal as the first element and either -osa or -cosa as the rhyming second element.(1)

Numbers

11 species in BugGuide's range (North American north of Mexico).(2)-accessed 28 Feb. 2014

Size

(Some size ranges taken from a small number of specimens and may not reflect full range.)

alpigena —

Male: 4.8-6.4mm

Female: 6.7-9.3mm(3)

emertoni —

Male: 6.4-9.9mm

Female: 6.9-12mm(3)

insignita —

Male: 5.3-8.3mm

Female: 6.9-10mm(3)

lama —

Male: 4.5-5.3mm

Female: 4.8-6.4mm(3)

littoralis —

Male: 9.6-12.8

Female: 11.2-14.7mm(3)

minuta —

Male: 4.8-8.0mm

Female: 7.0-9.0mm(3)

perita —

Male: 5.3-6.3mm

Female: 7.4-7.5mm(3)

raptor —

Male: 8.0-11.7mm

Female: 11.0-16.0mm(3)

rubicunda —

Male: 6.6-9.3mm

Female: 8.0-12.0mm(3)

sanctaerosae —

Male: 8.2-13.2mm

Female: 10.9-12.0mm(3)

virgo —

Male: 5.1-6.9mm

Female: 5.0-6.6mm(3)

Range

alpigena — Alaska to Newfoundland, south to Arizona, New Mexico, and New Hampshire; also Greenland, Europe, and Asia.(4)(3)

emertoni — interior British Columbia to Nova Scotia, south to Utah, Colorado, and North Carolina.(4)(3)

insignita — Alaska to Baffin Island and Labrador, south to Colorado; also Greenland.(4)(3)

lama — Ontario to Nova Scotia, south to Alabama.(4)(3)

littoralis — (widespread in North America) interior British Columbia to Nova Scotia, south to Panama.(4)(3)

minuta — southern Texas through Mexico and Central America to Colombia and Guyana.(3)

perita — southwestern British Columbia and northwestern Washington (introduced to North America in recent decades); also Europe, Asia, North Africa.(4)(3)(5)

raptor — Alaska to Newfoundland, south to Maine.(4)(3)

rubicunda — western Northwest Territories to Nova Scotia, south to Colorado, Kansas, and southern Pennsylvania.(4)(3)

sanctaerosae — Gulf of Mexico coast from Mississippi to the Florida panhandle.(3)

virgo — southern Michigan to New Jersey, south to Tennessee.(4)(3)

Works Cited

1.	Spiders of North America: An Identification Manual D. Ubick, P. Paquin, P.E. Cushing and V. Roth (eds). 2005. American Arachnological Society.

2.	The World Spider Catalog by Norman I. Platnick

3.	Revision of the wolf spiders of the genus Arctosa C. D. Dondale and J. H. Redner. 1983. J. Arachnol., 11:1-30.

4.	The Wolf Spiders, Nurseryweb Spiders, and Lynx Spiders of Canada and Alaska Dondale, Charles D. and James H. Redner. 1990. Canadian Government Publishing Centre, Ottawa.

5.	Album of English Boom Field Trip (Rod Crawford's Spider Collector's Journal)

Contributed by tom murray on 29 July, 2005 - 7:41pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Jeff Hollenbeck, Chuck Entz, Mandy Howe, Laura P.
Last updated 6 May, 2015 - 7:36am

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