| Schizocosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Shizocosa crassipes | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Lycosidae |
| Genus: | Schizocosa Chamberlin, 1904 |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Schizocosa is a genus of wolf spiders (family Lycosidae) containing around 60 species, distributed in North and South America, Africa, and East and Southeast Asia.
Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae, named for their robust and agile hunting skills and excellent eyesight. They live mostly in solitude, hunt alone, and usually do not spin webs. Some are opportunistic hunters, pouncing upon prey as they find it or chasing it over short distances; others wait for passing prey in or near the mouth of a burrow. Wolf spiders resemble nursery web spiders, but wolf spiders carry their egg sacs by attaching them to their spinnerets, while the Pisauridae carry their egg sacs with their chelicerae and pedipalps. Two of the wolf spider's eight eyes are large and prominent; this distinguishes them from nursery web spiders, whose eyes are all of roughly equal size. This can also help distinguish them from the similar-looking grass spiders.
Nursery web spiders (Pisauridae) are a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1890. Females of the family are known for building special nursery webs. When their eggs are about to hatch, a female spider builds a tent-like web, places her egg sac inside, and stands guard outside, hence the family's common name. Like wolf spiders, however, nursery web spiders are roaming hunters that do not use webs for catching prey.
Zoropsidae, also known as false wolf spiders for their physical similarity to wolf spiders, is a family of cribellate araneomorph spiders first described by Philipp Bertkau in 1882. They can be distinguished from wolf spiders by their two rows of eyes that are more equal in size than those of Lycosidae.
Lycosa tarantula is the species originally known as the tarantula, a name that nowadays in English commonly refers to spiders in another family entirely, the Theraphosidae. It now may be better called the tarantula wolf spider, being in the wolf spider family, the Lycosidae. L. tarantula is a large species found in southern Europe, especially in the Apulia region of Italy and near the city of Taranto, from which it gets its name.
Trechaleidae (tre-kah-LEE-ih-dee) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1890. It includes about 140 described species in 16 genera. They all live in Central and South America except for Shinobius orientalis, which is endemic to Japan. Other names for the family are longlegged water spiders and fishing spiders. The family Trechaleidae is closely related to Pisauridae and Lycosidae, and the three families are sometimes referred to as the lycosid group.
Nukuhiva is a genus of spiders with a single species, Nukuhiva adamsoni, that occurs only on the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. It is in the wolf spider family, Lycosidae. It has been found on Nuku Hiva and on Ua Huka, a smaller island about 25 km (16 mi) to the east.
The Artoriinae are a subfamily of wolf spiders. The monophyly of the subfamily has been confirmed in a molecular phylogenetic study, although the relationships among the subfamilies was shown to be less certain.
Sexual selection in spiders shows how sexual selection explains the evolution of phenotypic traits in spiders. Male spiders have many complex courtship rituals and have to avoid being eaten by the females, with the males of most species surviving only a few matings and consequently having short life-spans.
Trebacosa is a genus of wolf spiders first described by Dondale & Redner in 1981.
Melecosa is a genus of spiders in the family Lycosidae. Its lone species is found in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China.
Schizocosa saltatrix is a species of wolf spider in the family Lycosidae. It is found in North America.
Schizocosa retrorsa is a species of wolf spider in the family Lycosidae. It is found in the United States and Mexico.
Schizocosa bilineata is a species of wolf spider in the family Lycosidae. It is found in the United States and Canada.
Schizocosa crassipes is a species of wolf spider in the family Lycosidae. It is found in the United States.
Schizocosa avida is a species of wolf spider in the family Lycosidae. It is found in North America.
Schizocosa ocreata is a species of wolf spider in the family Lycosidae that is found in North America. The Schizocosa ocreata is a spider that is most commonly known as the “brush-legged wolf spider” because of their distinct dark-colored fur-like coverings around their legs. The S. ocreata are commonly found in North American states, usually in the middle and eastern United States.
Schizocosa mccooki is a species of wolf spider in the family Lycosidae. They can be found from the west coast to western Lake Erie in western North America, including Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
Schizocosa crassipalpata is a species of wolf spider in the family Lycosidae. It is found in the United States and Canada.
Schizocosa stridulans is a sibling species of S. ocreata and S. rovneri and is part of the wolf spider family. The name of the genus comes from the epigynum structure being lycosid and having a split T excavation. This spider is well-known for its specific leg ornamentation and courtship rituals and that is how it has been differentiated from its related species. The S. stridulans take systematic steps during its courtship ritual, which involves two independent signals. More specifically, female spiders will leave silk and pheromones to communicate that they are ready to mate.
Schizocosa rovneri is a species of wolf spider found in the United States. Its habitat is primarily leaf litter along floodplains.
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