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TaxonomyBrowse
Info
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Genus Pardosa - Thin-legged Wolf Spiders

Tiny Spider - Pardosa Subadult male - Pardosa moesta - male November spider - Pardosa Spider - Pardosa spider - Pardosa Lycosidae wet mudbank along creek - Pardosa Wolf spider with egg case - Pardosa - female Wolf spider? - Pardosa
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 Pardosa (Thin-legged Wolf Spiders)
Pronunciation
Pahr-DO-suh
Numbers
No Taxon atrata group - 1 species in bugguide's range

No Taxon coloradensis group
Pardosa coloradensis

No Taxon distincta group
P. montgomeryi
P. orophila
P. utahensis
P. xerophila
P. yavapa

No Taxon lapidicina group
P. mercurialis
P. sierra
P. steva
P. vadosa
P. valens

No Taxon milvina group
P. bellona
P. delicatula
P. littoralis
P. parvula
P. saltonia

No Taxon modica group
Pardosa albomaculata
Pardosa anomala
Pardosa bucklei
Pardosa confusa
Pardosa crassistyla
Pardosa dromaea
Pardosa labradorensis
Pardosa lowriei
Pardosa ourayensis
Pardosa sinistra
Pardosa tetonensis
Pardosa tristis
Pardosa vogelae
Pardosa wasatchensis
Pardosa wyuta

No Taxon moesta group

No Taxon nigra group - According to Beatrice Vogel's article (see Internet References, below) there are 8 species in the contiguous US, with 5 also in Canada. 6 species are found in Europe and/or Asia
P. dorsalis
P. gothicana
P. hetchi
P. rainieriana
P. uintana
P. uncata

No Taxon saltuaria group

No Taxon sternalis group 5-8 mm
The sternalis group consists of six species west of the Mississippi River:
P. altamontis
P. orthodox
P. sternalis
P. tuoba

No Taxon tesquorum group
P. mulaiki

No Taxon xerampelina group
P. diuturna
P. nordicolens
Size
3-12mm(1)
Identification
Spiders in the Pardosa genus have a subvertical/converging face as shown below.



Lycosa-like genera including Hogna, Schizocosa, Trochosa etc. have a convex face as shown below.



Info. provided by Rod Crawford.

According to Bradley, "Common Spiders of North America", Pardosa can be identified by the nearly perpendicular spines on the hind legs"(2) (pg. 147) Editor's note: Per communication with Richard A. Bradly this may not apply to all species in the genus (can't find it in the literature) but seems at the very least to be a quick way to separate Pardosa from similarly sized genera in North America. Will update if I find out more info regarding this. -Laura P.

Keep in mind that Pardosa closely resemble Acantholycosa in appearance, especially the shape of the cephalothorax and slenderness of the legs. The distinguishing feature is the number of tibial spines: Acantholycosa has 5–7 pairs on the ventral side of tibia I, and Pardosa have 3 pairs, of which the distal pair may be short.(1) However, North America currently only has one described species that could cause this potential confusion: Acantholycosa solituda.
Range
distincta group

The following 5 species are found in the Rocky Mountain states from New Mexico north through Wyoming.
P. montgomeryi
P. orophila
P. utahensis
P. xerophila
P. yavapa

P. distincta is found throughout the Rocky Mountains, including Canada, and eastward to New England. While P. distincta is one of the most frequently encountered Pardosa species in the Rocky Mountains, the other five species of the group are rarely seen because of their size and restricted choice of habitat. (1)
Remarks
The Lapponica Group (2 species in bugguide's range) consists of one species in North America and one Holarctic species - Pardosa concinna & Pardosa lapponica.
The Modica Group (23 species in bugguide's range) The 17 U.S. species are Pardosa albomaculata, Pardosa anomala, Pardosa bucklei, Pardosa confusa, Pardosa crassistyla, Pardosa dromaea, Pardosa groenlandica, Pardosa labradorensis, Pardosa lowriei, Pardosa modica, Pardosa ourayensis, Pardosa sinistra, Pardosa tetonensis, Pardosa tristis, Pardosa vogelae, Pardosa wasatchensis, Pardosa wyuta.
Works Cited
1.A Review of the Spider Genera Pardosa and Acantholycosa (Araneae, Lycosidae) of the 48 Contiguous United States
Beatrice R. Vogel. 2004. The Journal of Arachnology 32:55–108.
2.Common Spiders of North America
Richard A. Bradley . 2012. University of California Press .