Lycosa

Lycosa Temporal range: Palaeogene–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Female L. aragogi
Female L. inviolata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Lycosidae
Genus:	Lycosa Latreille, 1804 [1]
Species
> 200, see text.

Lycosa is a genus of wolf spiders distributed throughout most of the world, with more than two hundred described species. ^{[1] [2]}

Sometimes called the "true tarantula", though not closely related to the spiders most commonly called tarantulas today, Lycosa spp. can be distinguished from common wolf spiders by their relatively large size. This genus includes the European Lycosa tarantula , which was once associated with tarantism, a dubious affliction whose symptoms included shaking, cold sweats, and a high fever, asserted to be curable only by the traditional tarantella dance. No scientific substantiation of that myth is known; the venom of Lycosa spiders is generally not harmful.

Life style

Species of Lycosa spin no web. The larger forms live in silk-lined burrows and under stones. Females carry the cocoon attached to their spinnerets, and after hatching the young swarm on the mother's back. ^[3]

Description

See also: Glossary of spider terms

• 
  Lycosa tarantula, illustration

The carapace is long with a vertical facial area and slanting sides. The four posterior eyes are large and arranged in a quadrangle that is slightly wider behind than in front. In Lycosa, the eyes of the second row are larger than those of the third row. ^[3]

The labium is always longer than wide with a prominent basal excavation that occupies usually one-third or more of the labium's length. The clypeus is not vertical. ^[3]

The legs have tibiae I and II armed with three pairs of ventral spines. Metatarsus IV of leg IV is never longer than the tibia plus patella together. ^[3]

Taxonomy

The main diagnostic characters considered by Zyuzin and Logunov include the large size and the tongue-shaped septum of the epigyne with an elongated anterior part. The male palp of Lycosa currently includes many medium to large wolf spiders that are not congeneric with the type species L. tarantula, making Lycosa undoubtedly a polyphyletic taxon. ^[3]

Species

• 
  Lycosa hawaiiensis carrying young
• 
  Lycosa leuckarti
• 
  Lycosa narbonensis
• 
  Lycosa singoriensis
• 
  Lycosa godeffroyi carrying young

As of October 2025 ^[update] , this genus includes 213 species and five subspecies. ^[1]

These species have articles on Wikipedia:

• Lycosa aragogi Nadolny & Zamani, 2017 – Iran
• Lycosa bistriata Gravely, 1924 – Pakistan, India, Bhutan
• Lycosa capensis Simon, 1898 – South Africa
• Lycosa connexa Roewer, 1960 – South Africa
• Lycosa dacica (Pavesi, 1898) – Romania
• Lycosa erythrognatha Lucas, 1836 – Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina
• Lycosa gigantea (Roewer, 1960) – South Africa
• Lycosa howarthi Gertsch, 1973 – Hawaii
• Lycosa indagatrix Walckenaer, 1837 – India, Sri Lanka
• Lycosa inviolata Roewer, 1960 – South Africa
• Lycosa pachana Pocock, 1898 – Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa
• Lycosa palliata Roewer, 1960 – South Africa
• Lycosa perspicua Roewer, 1960 – South Africa
• Lycosa rimicola Purcell, 1903 – South Africa
• Lycosa shillongensis Tikader & Malhotra, 1980 – India
• Lycosa tarantula (Linnaeus, 1758) – France, Italy, Balkans, Turkey, Middle East (type species)
• Lycosa yerburyi Pocock, 1901 – Sri Lanka

Complete list of species as of October 2025 [update]

Lycosa abidae Sherwood, 2025 – Pakistan Lycosa abnormis Guy, 1966 – Morocco Lycosa accurata (Becker, 1886) – Mexico Lycosa adusta Banks, 1898 – Mexico Lycosa affinis Lucas, 1846 – Algeria Lycosa apacha Chamberlin, 1925 – United States Lycosa approximata (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885) – China (Yarkand) Lycosa aragogi Nadolny & Zamani, 2017 – Iran Lycosa arambagensis B. Biswas & K. Biswas, 1992 – India Lycosa ariadnae McKay, 1979 – Australia (Western Australia) Lycosa articulata Costa, 1875 – Israel Lycosa aurea Hogg, 1896 – Central Australia Lycosa auroguttata (Keyserling, 1891) – Brazil Lycosa australicola (Strand, 1913) – Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territory) Lycosa australis Simon, 1884 – Chile Lycosa balaramai Patel & Reddy, 1993 – India Lycosa barnesi Gravely, 1924 – India Lycosa baulnyi Simon, 1876 – North Africa Lycosa bedeli Simon, 1876 – North Africa Lycosa beihaiensis Yin, Bao & Zhang, 1995 – China Lycosa bezzii Mello-Leitão, 1944 – Argentina Lycosa biolleyi Banks, 1909 – Costa Rica Lycosa bistriata Gravely, 1924 – Pakistan, India, Bhutan Lycosa boninensis Tanaka, 1989 – Taiwan, Japan, Korea Lycosa bonneti Guy & Carricaburu, 1967 – Algeria Lycosa brunnea F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902 – Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico Lycosa caenosa Rainbow, 1899 – New Caledonia, Vanuatu Lycosa canescens Schenkel, 1963 – China Lycosa capensis Simon, 1898 – South Africa Lycosa carbonelli Costa & Capocasale, 1984 – Uruguay Lycosa carmichaeli Gravely, 1924 – India, Bhutan Lycosa cerrofloresiana Petrunkevitch, 1925 – El Salvador to Panama Lycosa chaperi Simon, 1885 – Pakistan, India Lycosa choudhuryi Tikader & Malhotra, 1980 – India, China Lycosa cingara (C. L. Koch, 1847) – Egypt Lycosa coelestis L. Koch, 1878 – China, Korea, Japan Lycosa connexa Roewer, 1960 – South Africa Lycosa contestata Montgomery, 1903 – United States Lycosa corallina McKay, 1974 – Australia (Western Australia) Lycosa coreana Paik, 1994 – Korea Lycosa cowlei Hogg, 1896 – Central Australia Lycosa cretacea Simon, 1898 – North Africa Lycosa dacica (Pavesi, 1898) – Romania Lycosa danjiangensis Yin, Zhao & Bao, 1997 – China Lycosa dilatata F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902 – Mexico to El Salvador Lycosa dimota Simon, 1909 – Australia (Western Australia) Lycosa discolor Walckenaer, 1837 – United States Lycosa elymaisa Zamani & Nadolny, 2022 – Iran Lycosa emuncta Banks, 1898 – Mexico Lycosa erjianensis Yin & Zhao, 1996 – China Lycosa erythrognatha Lucas, 1836 – Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina Lycosa eutypa Chamberlin, 1925 – Panama Lycosa falconensis Schenkel, 1953 – Venezuela Lycosa fasciiventris Dufour, 1835 – Portugal, Spain, Morocco Lycosa fernandezi (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899) – Chile (Juan Fernandez Is.) Lycosa ferriculosa Chamberlin, 1919 – United States Lycosa formosana Saito, 1936 – Taiwan Lycosa fuscana Pocock, 1901 – India Lycosa futilis Banks, 1898 – Mexico Lycosa geotubalis Tikader & Malhotra, 1980 – India Lycosa gesserit Armiach Steinpress, Cohen, Pétillon, Chipman & Gavish-Regev, 2022 – Israel Lycosa gibsoni McKay, 1979 – Australia (Western Australia) Lycosa gigantea (Roewer, 1960) – South Africa Lycosa gobiensis Schenkel, 1936 – Mongolia, China Lycosa goliathus Pocock, 1901 – India Lycosa grahami Fox, 1935 – China Lycosa gravelyi Biswas & Raychaudhuri, 2014 – Bangladesh Lycosa guayaquiliana Mello-Leitão, 1939 – Ecuador Lycosa hickmani (Roewer, 1955) – New Guinea, Australia (Northern Australia) Lycosa hildegardae Casanueva, 1980 – Chile Lycosa hispanica (Walckenaer, 1837) – Spain L. h. dufouri (Simon, 1876) – Portugal, Spain Lycosa horrida (Keyserling, 1877) – Colombia Lycosa howarthi Gertsch, 1973 – Hawaii Lycosa hyraculus Armiach Steinpress, Cohen, Pétillon, Chipman & Gavish-Regev, 2022 – Egypt, Israel Lycosa illicita Gertsch, 1934 – Mexico Lycosa immanis L. Koch, 1879 – Russia (West Siberia, Far East) Lycosa impavida Walckenaer, 1837 – United States Lycosa implacida Nicolet, 1849 – Chile Lycosa indagatrix Walckenaer, 1837 – India, Sri Lanka Lycosa indomita Nicolet, 1849 – Chile Lycosa infesta Walckenaer, 1837 – United States Lycosa injusta Banks, 1898 – Mexico Lycosa innocua Doleschall, 1859 – Indonesia (Ambon) Lycosa inornata Blackwall, 1862 – Brazil Lycosa insulana (Bryant, 1923) – Barbados Lycosa insularis Lucas, 1857 – Cuba Lycosa intermedialis Roewer, 1955 – Libya Lycosa interstitialis (Strand, 1906) – Algeria Lycosa inviolata Roewer, 1960 – South Africa Lycosa iranii Pocock, 1901 – India Lycosa ishikariana (Saito, 1934) – Russia (Sakhalin, Kurile Is.), Japan Lycosa isolata Bryant, 1940 – Cuba Lycosa jagadalpurensis Gajbe, 2004 – India Lycosa japhlongensis Biswas & Raychaudhuri, 2014 – Bangladesh Lycosa kempi Gravely, 1924 – Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, China Lycosa koyuga McKay, 1979 – Australia (Western Australia) Lycosa kuryk Esyunin & Efimik, 2025 – Kazakhstan Lycosa labialis Mao & Song, 1985 – China, Korea Lycosa labialisoides Peng, Yin, Zhang & Kim, 1997 – China Lycosa laeta L. Koch, 1877 – Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales) Lycosa lambai Tikader & Malhotra, 1980 – India Lycosa lativulva F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902 – Guatemala Lycosa lebakensis Doleschall, 1859 – Indonesia (Java) Lycosa leucogastra Mello-Leitão, 1944 – Argentina Lycosa leucophaeoides (Roewer, 1951) – Australia (Queensland) Lycosa leucophthalma Mello-Leitão, 1940 – Argentina Lycosa leucotaeniata (Mello-Leitão, 1947) – Brazil Lycosa liliputana Nicolet, 1849 – Chile Lycosa longivulva F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902 – Guatemala Lycosa mackenziei Gravely, 1924 – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh Lycosa macrophthalma Nadolny & Zamani, 2020 – Iran Lycosa madagascariensis Vinson, 1863 – Madagascar Lycosa madani Pocock, 1901 – Pakistan, India Lycosa magallanica Karsch, 1880 – Chile Lycosa magnifica Hu, 2001 – China Lycosa mahabaleshwarensis Tikader & Malhotra, 1980 – India Lycosa masteri Pocock, 1901 – India Lycosa matusitai Nakatsudi, 1943 – Japan to Micronesia Lycosa maya Chamberlin, 1925 – Mexico Lycosa mexicana Banks, 1898 – Mexico Lycosa minae (Dönitz & Strand, 1906) – Japan Lycosa mordax Walckenaer, 1837 – United States Lycosa moulmeinensis Gravely, 1924 – Myanmar Lycosa mukana Roewer, 1960 – DR Congo Lycosa munieri Simon, 1876 – North Africa, Spain (Balearic Is.), Italy (Sardinia) Lycosa muntea (Roewer, 1960) – Congo Lycosa niceforoi Mello-Leitão, 1941 – Colombia Lycosa nigricans Butt, Anwar & Tahir, 2006 – Pakistan Lycosa nigromarmorata Mello-Leitão, 1941 – Colombia Lycosa nigropunctata Rainbow, 1915 – Australia (South Australia) Lycosa nigrotaeniata Mello-Leitão, 1941 – Colombia Lycosa nigrotibialis Simon, 1884 – India, Bhutan, Myanmar Lycosa nordenskjoldi Tullgren, 1905 – Brazil, Bolivia Lycosa oculata Simon, 1876 – Western Mediterranean Lycosa pachana Pocock, 1898 – Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa Lycosa palliata Roewer, 1960 – South Africa Lycosa pampeana Holmberg, 1876 – Paraguay, Argentina Lycosa paranensis Holmberg, 1876 – Brazil, Argentina Lycosa parvipudens Karsch, 1881 – Kiribati (Gilbert Is.) Lycosa patagonica Simon, 1886 – Chile Lycosa pavlovi Schenkel, 1953 – China Lycosa perkinsi Simon, 1904 – Hawaii Lycosa perspicua Roewer, 1960 – South Africa Lycosa philadelphiana Walckenaer, 1837 – United States Lycosa phipsoni Pocock, 1899 – India to China, Taiwan L. p. leucophora (Thorell, 1887) – Myanmar Lycosa pia (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) – Japan Lycosa picta Biswas & Raychaudhuri, 2014 – Bangladesh Lycosa pictipes (Keyserling, 1891) – Brazil, Argentina Lycosa pictula Pocock, 1901 – India Lycosa pintoi Mello-Leitão, 1931 – Brazil Lycosa piochardi Simon, 1876 – Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran Lycosa poliostoma (C. L. Koch, 1847) – Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina Lycosa poonaensis Tikader & Malhotra, 1980 – India Lycosa porteri Simon, 1904 – Chile Lycosa praegrandis C. L. Koch, 1836 – Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia (Europe), Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Iran, Central Asia L. p. discoloriventer Caporiacco, 1949 – Albania Lycosa praestans Roewer, 1960 – Botswana Lycosa proletarioides Mello-Leitão, 1941 – Argentina Lycosa prolifica Pocock, 1901 – India Lycosa pulchella (Thorell, 1881) – New Guinea, Papua New Guinea (Bismarck Arch.) Lycosa punctiventralis (Roewer, 1951) – Mexico Lycosa quadrimaculata Lucas, 1858 – Gabon Lycosa rimicola Purcell, 1903 – South Africa Lycosa rufisterna Schenkel, 1953 – China Lycosa russea Schenkel, 1953 – China Lycosa sabulosa (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885) – China (Yarkand), and Tjikistan, Afghanistan Lycosa salifodina McKay, 1976 – Australia (Western Australia) Lycosa salvadorensis Kraus, 1955 – El Salvador Lycosa separata (Roewer, 1960) – Mozambique Lycosa septembris (Strand, 1906) – Ethiopia Lycosa sericovittata Mello-Leitão, 1939 – Brazil Lycosa serranoa Tullgren, 1901 – Chile Lycosa shahapuraensis Gajbe, 2004 – India Lycosa shaktae Bhandari & Gajbe, 2001 – India Lycosa shansia (Hogg, 1912) – China, Mongolia Lycosa shillongensis Tikader & Malhotra, 1980 – India Lycosa signata Lenz, 1886 – Madagascar Lycosa signiventris Banks, 1909 – El Salvador, Costa Rica Lycosa sigridae (Strand, 1917) – Mexico Lycosa similis Banks, 1892 – United States Lycosa singoriensis (Laxmann, 1770) – Central to eastern Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to South Siberia), Iran, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, China, Korea Lycosa soboutii Shafaie, Nadolny & Mirshamsi, 2022 – Georgia, Iran Lycosa sochoi Mello-Leitão, 1947 – Brazil Lycosa storeniformis Simon, 1909 – Guinea-Bissau Lycosa subfusca F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902 – Mexico, Costa Rica Lycosa suboculata Guy, 1966 – North Africa Lycosa suzukii Kishida, 1960 – Russia (Far East), China, Korea, Japan Lycosa sylvatica (Roewer, 1951) – Algeria Lycosa tarantula (Linnaeus, 1758) – France, Italy, Balkans, Turkey, Middle East (type species) L. t. carsica Caporiacco, 1949 – Italy L. t. cisalpina Simon, 1937 – France Lycosa tarantuloides Perty, 1833 – Brazil Lycosa tasmanicola Roewer, 1960 – Australia (Tasmania) Lycosa teranganicola (Strand, 1911) – Indonesia (Aru Is.) Lycosa terrestris Butt, Anwar & Tahir, 2006 – Pakistan Lycosa tetrophthalma Mello-Leitão, 1939 – Paraguay Lycosa thoracica Patel & Reddy, 1993 – India Lycosa tista Tikader, 1970 – India, Bangladesh Lycosa transversa F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902 – Guatemala Lycosa trichopus (Roewer, 1960) – Afghanistan Lycosa tula (Strand, 1913) – Australia (Western Australia) Lycosa u-album Mello-Leitão, 1938 – Argentina Lycosa uzbekistanica Logunov, 2023 – Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan? Lycosa vachoni Guy, 1966 – Algeria Lycosa vellutina Mello-Leitão, 1941 – Colombia Lycosa ventralis F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902 – Mexico Lycosa vittata Yin, Bao & Zhang, 1995 – China Lycosa wadaiensis Roewer, 1960 – Chad Lycosa wangi Yin, Peng & Wang, 1996 – China Lycosa woonda McKay, 1979 – Australia (Western Australia) Lycosa wroughtoni Pocock, 1899 – Pakistan, India Lycosa wulsini Fox, 1935 – China Lycosa yalkara McKay, 1979 – Australia (Western Australia) Lycosa yerburyi Pocock, 1901 – Sri Lanka Lycosa yizhangensis Yin, Peng & Wang, 1996 – China Lycosa yunnanensis Yin, Peng & Wang, 1996 – China

References

1. "Genus Lycosa". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 2025-10-02.
2. Planas, E., Fernández-Montraveta, C., & Ribera, C. (2013). Molecular systematics of the wolf spider genus Lycosa (Araneae: Lycosidae) in the Western Mediterranean Basin. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 67(2), 414-428.
3. Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Lycosidae of South Africa. Version 1: part 2 (L-Z). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 4. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6324723.  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

External links

• Citizen science observations for Lycosa at iNaturalist

• Lycosa - arachnos.eu