''Anoteropsis hilaris'', commonly referred as the garden wolf spider or the grey wolf spider, is a species of

wolf spider Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae (). They are robust and agile hunters with excellent eyesight. They live mostly in solitude, hunt alone, and do not spin webs. Some are opportunistic hunters, pouncing upon prey as they find it or ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is also known as the european wolf spider, because it lives in Southeastern Europe. Vink, C. (2002). Lycosidae (Arachnida: Araneae). ''Fauna of New Zealand'' 44: 1-94. __TOC__

Taxonomy and description

''Anoteropsis hilaris'' was first described three times in 1877 by Ludwig Koch in the same paper as ''Lycosa hilaris'', ''Lycosa umbrata'' and ''Pardosa vicaria''. In the same year, Peter D. Goyen described ''Lycosa virgata'' and ''Lycosa taylori.'' In 1899, Eugene Simon described ''Lycosa tremula''. In 1951, Carl Roewer renamed ''L. virgata'' as ''Lycosa virgatella''. In 1955, Roewer would transfer ''L virgatella'' and ''L. taylori'' to the ''

Pardosa ''Pardosa'' is a large genus of wolf spiders, commonly known as the thin-legged wolf spiders. It was first described by C. L. Koch, in 1847, with more than 500 described species that are found in all regions of the world. Description THey ...

'' genus, ''L. tremula'' to the '' Arctosa'' genus and transfer ''L. umbrata'' to the '' Avicosa'' genus. In 1960, Roewer would transfer ''A. tremula'' to the '' Arctosella'' genus. In 1964, Ray Forster described Lycosa subantarctica. In 2002, William Vink placed ''Lycosa hilaris'' in the ''

Anoteropsis ''Anoteropsis'' is a genus of wolf spiders. All the species except one are found in New Zealand and its islands. Their body size ranges from 4.2 to 17.4 mm. Species , the World Spider Catalog accepted the following extant species: *'' An ...

'' genus and recognized all aforementioned names as synonyms of ''A. hilaris''.

Description

''Anoteropsis hilaris'' is small with a body length of 4.9-11mm (male) or 4.9-11.8mm (female). The main body has a pale yellow stripe on the dorsal side running from the front of the head to about two thirds down the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the to ...

. The abdomen and cephalothorax vary in colouration, but are typically brown with darker colours near the medial stripe. The legs are also variable but are typically yellow-brown, but may also have green segments. The eggsacs have a pinkish tinge when first laid. ''Anoteropsis hilaris'' can be distinguished from other species of ''Anoteropsis'' by the morphology of its reproductive system. ARAN Lycosidae Anoteropsis hilaris f

Distribution and habitat

''Anoteropsis hilaris'' is widespread throughout both main islands of New Zealand and on some of New Zealand's smaller islands such as Stewart Island,

Three Kings Islands 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 190 ...

, Snares Island and

Auckland Islands The Auckland Islands (Māori: ''Motu Maha'' "Many islands" or ''Maungahuka'' "Snowy mountains") are an archipelago of New Zealand, lying south of the South Island. The main Auckland Island, occupying , is surrounded by smaller Adams Islan ...

. The spider occurs in grassland scrub habitats everywhere except in alpine zones. A. hilaris is one of the most abundant predatory arthropods in New Zealand's agricultural ecosystems.

Way of life

Adults appear to have seasonal abundance, being most abundant from December to January (but can be found all year round). Egg sacs have been recorded from September to March, which are carried by the female. The female carries the spiderlings, which have been recorded from December to March. This species has featured in Monster Bug Wars's epsoide, Monster Duelle XXs, where it got defeated by a sydney funnelweb spider.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3159987 Lycosidae Spiders of New Zealand Spiders described in 1877 Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic spiders of New Zealand