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Genus Alopecosa

spider in a hole - Alopecosa kochi Adult Male - Alopecosa aculeata - male Habitus, anterdorsolateral view - Alopecosa aculeata - female Spider - Alopecosa aculeata Adult male - Alopecosa kochi - male Lycosidae --? - Alopecosa - male Wolf Spider - Alopecosa kochi Lycosoidea - Alopecosa kochi
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 Alopecosa
Pronunciation
aa-lo-pe-KO-suh(1)
Explanation of Names
Alopec- means the spider was named for a fox, and osa is formed to rhyme with Pardosa and means it is a wolf spider.(2)
Numbers
162 species, 7 species in BugGuide's range (North America north of Mexico).(3)

Alopecosa koponeni Blagoev & Dondale, 2014
Alopecosa mutabilis (Kulczyński, 1908)


Note: specimen(s) of the European species Alopecosa pulverulenta (Clerck, 1757) have been found on Attu Island (Aleutian Islands), Alaska. Further collecting is needed to confirm their presence in North America (this species is not included in the six).(4)

Outside our range but still within the US (Hawaii, which we have a holding bin for) there is also Alopecosa oahuensis (Keyserling, 1890)
Size
"Total length 6.6-16.0 mm."(4)

Male: 7.2-9.5 mm
Female: 8.1-11.3 mm(4)

Male: 6.9-8.8 mm
Female: 7.1-10.3 mm(4)

Male: 8.9-11.2 mm
Female: 10.2-14.1 mm(4)

Male: 6.6-11.0 mm
Female: 9.0-16.0 mm(4)

Alopecosa koponeni
Male: 6.68-7.85 mm
Female: 8.25-8.52 mm(5)

Alopecosa mutabilis
Male: ~7.3 mm
Female: 7.0-9.8 mm(4)

Male: 7.2-9.9 mm
Female: 8.1-12.8 mm(4)
Identification
"Carapace dark reddish brown to nearly black laterally; setae dense, black or white; eye area black; median band pale, broad, distinct; submarginal bands (if present) pale or represented by series of spots. ...Abdomen with series of black oblique marks, sometimes coalescing to form longitudinal bands or chevrons; anterior sides with conspicuous black area; venter reddish brown."(4) See cited literature for a more complete and technical description.











Alopecosa kopeneni: Off-site images of this species can be found here.

Alopecosa mutabilis: Off-site images of this species can be found here.

Range


Alopecosa aculeata — North America, Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to Far East), Iran, Central Asia, China, Japan(3); Alaska to Newfoundland, south to Arizona and Connecticut(4)

Alopecosa exasperans — Canada, Greenland(3); Canadian Arctic islands; northern and western Greenland(4)

Alopecosa hirtipes — Canada, USA (Alaska), Russia (Europe to Far East)(3); Alaska to Labrador(4)

Alopecosa kochi — North America(3); southern British Columbia to southern Ontario and Massachusetts, south to Baja California and Texas(4)

Alopecosa mutabilis — Russia (Europe to East Siberia), USA (Alaska)(3); northern Alaska(4)

Alopecosa pictilis — North America, Russia (South and north-eastern Siberia, Far East)(3); Alaska to Labrador, with relict populations in the mountains of New Hampshire(4)
Internet References
~ www.spiderling.de - Images of Alopecosa spp. in Europe.

World Spider Catalog (2020). World Spider Catalog. Version 21.0. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch, accessed on March 5, 2020.
Works Cited
1.Spiders of North America: An Identification Manual, Second Edition
Darrell Ubick (Editor), Pierre Paquin (Editor), Paula Cushing (Editor), Nadine Dupérré (Illustrator). 2017. American Arachnological Society.
2.Spiders of North America: An Identification Manual
D. Ubick, P. Paquin, P.E. Cushing and V. Roth (eds). 2005. American Arachnological Society.
3.World Spider Catalog
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.A new species of Alopecosa (Araneae: Lycosidae) from Canada: a morphological description supported by DNA barcoding of 19 congen
Blagoev, G. A. & Dondale, C. D. 2014. Zootaxa 3894(1): 152-160.