| | The spider families of Britain and Ireland |
Wolf Spiders.
Morphology. The adult spiders 3.5–18 mm long; of medium build; decidedly short-legged, or with legs of medium length (but rarely reaching twice the body length); with eight eyes. The eyes ostensibly in three rows of 4+2+2, the anterior row of four more or less recurved (4+2+2: configured as an anterior, somewhat recurved row of four small eyes, and behind it four equal-sized, larger ones forming a trapezium). The palpal organs of the male of complex structure and enclosed by the specialized, hollowed tarsal segment (the cymbium). The trochanters of all the legs notched. Metatarsus IV of the females without a calamistrum. Tarsal claws 3. Tarsus IV without a ventral ‘comb’. The abdomen conspicuously patterned dorsally. The abdomen of the females without a cribellum. The reproductive openings of the females associated with an epigyne.
The adults constructing a terrestrial retreat in the form of a silk tube (in some species), or constructing neither a terrestrial silken retreat nor an underwater diving-bell (although some - e.g., Pirata and Arctosa species living in wet places - build burrows or silken retreats that are regularly inundated, or open at or only just above the surface of the water); not making snare-webs; actively pursuing their prey (mostly ground runners). The females carrying egg sacs attached to their spinnerets (and carrying the young for several days after the eggs have hatched).
Representation in Britain and Ireland. 36 species in Britain; in the genera Alopecosa, Arctosa, Aulonia, Hygrolycosa, Pardosa, Pirata, Tricca, Trochosa, and Xerolycosa.
Illustrations. • Trochosa ruricola and T. terricola. 2, Trochosa terricola Thorell: a, female; b, male. 3, Trochosa ruricola (Degeer): a, female; b, male; c, maxillae and labium. From Blackwall (1861). • Alopecosa barbipes and A. pulverulenta. 4, Alopecosa barbipes (Sundevall): a, female; b, male; c, cephalothorax and abdomen in profile; d, eyes; e, ventral view, showing labium, maxillae, etc.; f, claws, with part of leg; g, palpal organs of the male. 5, A. pulverulenta (Clerck): a, female; b, male. From Blackwall (1861). • Arctosa cinerea, Arctosa perita. 6, Lycosa herbigrada Bl., female, = ? (this name being accepted by Bristowe, but not located in subsequent lists). 7, Arctosa cinerea (Fabr.): a, female; b, male. 8, Arctosa perita (Latr.): a, female; b, male. From Blackwall (1861). • Arctosa leopardus. Arctosa leopardus (Sundevall). a, female with egg cocoon; b, male; c, maxillae and labium; d, detached cocoon, showing its suture. From Blackwall (1861). • Pardosa amentata. Pardosa amentata (Clerck). (This is Blackwall's Plate II, fig. 9, which he labelled Lycosa saccata Walck. The name appears in Bristowe's list as L. saccata Linn.). From Blackwall (1861). • Pardosa saltans and Pardosa agricola. 10, Pardosa saltans Topfer-Hofman: a, female; b, male. 13, Pardosa agricola (Thorell): a, female; b, male; c, cocoon. From Blackwall (1861). • Pardosa palustris. Pardosa palustris (Linn.): 6, the female; 6a, the male; 6b, the palpal organs of the latter. This is Lycosa herbigrada Bl., now regarded as a form of P. palustris. • Pirata hygrophilus, P. latitans, and P. piraticus. 15, Pirata latitans (Bl.): a, female; b, male. 16, Pirata piraticus (Clerck): a, female; b, male. 17, Pirata hygrophilus Thorell: a, female; b, male. From Blackwall (1861).
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. The spider families of Britain and Ireland. Version: 5th August 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
