''Lycosa'' is a genus 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 ...

s distributed throughout most of the world. Sometimes called the "true tarantula", though not closely related to the spiders most commonly called

tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

s today, ''Lycosa'' spp. can be distinguished from common wolf spiders by their relatively large size. This genus includes the European ''

Lycosa tarantula ''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 ...

'', which was once associated with

tarantism Tarantism is a form of hysteric behaviour originating in Southern Italy, popularly believed to result from the bite of the wolf spider '' Lycosa tarantula'' (distinct from the broad class of spiders also called tarantulas). A better candidate c ...

, a dubious affliction whose symptoms included shaking, cold sweats, and a high fever, asserted to be curable only by the traditional

tarantella () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...

dance. No scientific substantiation of that myth is known; the venom of ''Lycosa'' spiders is generally not harmful. As of November 2020, more than 200 species in this genus had been described.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. Starr 020625-0014 Trisetum glomeratum

CSIRO ScienceImage 2414 A Mother Godeffroys Wolf Spider with Spiderlings

Species list

, the

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepted the following species: *'' Lycosa abnormis'' Guy, 1966 – North Africa *'' Lycosa accurata'' (Becker, 1886) – Mexico *'' Lycosa adusta'' Banks, 1898 – Mexico *'' Lycosa affinis'' Lucas, 1846 – Algeria *'' Lycosa anclata'' Franganillo, 1946 – Cuba *'' Lycosa apacha'' Chamberlin, 1925 – USA *'' Lycosa approximata'' (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885) – China (Yarkand) *''

Lycosa aragogi ''Lycosa aragogi'' is a species of the araneomorph spider family Lycosidae endemic to Kerman Province, Iran. The female holotype measured 26 mm, (excluding the legs), with two black and three white stripes of setae on its cephalothorax, b ...

'' Nadolny & Zamani, 2017 – Iran *'' Lycosa arambagensis'' Biswas & Biswas, 1992 – India *'' Lycosa ariadnae'' McKay, 1979 – Australia (Western Australia) *'' Lycosa articulata'' Costa, 1875 – Israel *'' Lycosa asiatica'' Sytshevskaja, 1980 – Tajikistan *'' 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 bhatnagari'' Sadana, 1969 – India *'' Lycosa biolleyi'' Banks, 1909 – Costa Rica *'' Lycosa bistriata'' Gravely, 1924 – 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 *'' Lycosa cerrofloresiana'' Petrunkevitch, 1925 – El Salvador to Panama *'' Lycosa chaperi'' Simon, 1885 – India, Pakistan *'' 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 – USA *'' 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 – USA *'' Lycosa elysae'' Tongiorgi, 1977 – St. Helena *'' 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 – USA *'' Lycosa formosana'' Saito, 1936 – Taiwan *'' Lycosa frigens'' (Kulczyński, 1916) – Russia (West Siberia) *'' Lycosa fuscana'' Pocock, 1901 – India *'' Lycosa futilis'' Banks, 1898 – Mexico *'' Lycosa geotubalis'' Tikader & Malhotra, 1980 – India *'' 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 hawigvittata'' Barrion, Barrion-Dupo & Heong, 2013 – China *'' Lycosa hickmani'' (Roewer, 1955) – New Guinea, Australia (Northern Australia) *'' Lycosa hildegardae'' Casanueva, 1980 – Chile *'' Lycosa hispanica'' (Walckenaer, 1837) – Spain *'' Lycosa horrida'' (Keyserling, 1877) – Colombia *'' Lycosa howarthi'' Gertsch, 1973 – Hawaii *'' Lycosa illicita'' Gertsch, 1934 – Mexico *'' Lycosa immanis'' L. Koch, 1879 – Russia (West Siberia, Far East) *'' Lycosa impavida'' Walckenaer, 1837 – USA *'' Lycosa implacida'' Nicolet, 1849 – Chile *'' Lycosa indagatrix'' Walckenaer, 1837 – India, Sri Lanka *'' Lycosa indomita'' Nicolet, 1849 – Chile *'' Lycosa infesta'' Walckenaer, 1837 – USA *'' 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 (Kurile Is.), Japan *'' Lycosa isolata'' Bryant, 1940 – Cuba *'' Lycosa jagadalpurensis'' Gajbe, 2004 – India *'' Lycosa japhlongensis'' Biswas & Raychaudhuri, 2014 – Bangladesh *'' Lycosa kempi'' Gravely, 1924 – India, Pakistan, Bhutan, China *'' Lycosa koyuga'' McKay, 1979 – Australia (Western Australia) *'' Lycosa labialis'' Mao & Song, 1985 – China, Korea *'' Lycosa labialisoides'' Peng, Yin, Zhang & Kim, 1997 – China *'' Lycosa laeta'' L. Koch, 1877 – Eastern Australia *'' Lycosa lambai'' Tikader & Malhotra, 1980 – India *'' Lycosa langei'' Mello-Leitão, 1947 – Brazil *'' 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 maculata'' Butt, Anwar & Tahir, 2006 – Pakistan *'' Lycosa madagascariensis'' Vinson, 1863 – Madagascar *'' Lycosa madani'' Pocock, 1901 – 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 – USA *'' Lycosa moulmeinensis'' Gravely, 1924 – Myanmar *'' Lycosa mukana'' Roewer, 1960 – 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 nilotica'' Audouin, 1826 – Egypt *'' Lycosa nordenskjoldi'' Tullgren, 1905 – Brazil, Bolivia *'' Lycosa oculata'' Simon, 1876 – Western Mediterranean *'' Lycosa ovalata'' Franganillo, 1930 – Cuba *'' Lycosa pachana'' Pocock, 1898 – Central, Southern 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 – USA *'' Lycosa phipsoni'' Pocock, 1899 – India to China, Taiwan *'' 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 – Syria *'' 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 *'' 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 ringens'' Tongiorgi, 1977 – St. Helena *'' Lycosa rostrata'' Franganillo, 1930 – Cuba *'' Lycosa rufisterna'' Schenkel, 1953 – China *'' Lycosa russea'' Schenkel, 1953 – China *'' Lycosa sabulosa'' (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885) – China (Yarkand) *'' 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 – USA *'' Lycosa singoriensis'' (Laxmann, 1770) – Central to eastern Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to South Siberia), Iran, Central Asia, China, Korea *'' 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'' Yaginuma, 1960 – Russia (Far East), China, Korea, Japan *'' Lycosa sylvatica'' (Roewer, 1951) – Algeria *''

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) (

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

) – France (Corsica), Italy, Balkans, Turkey, Middle East *'' 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 thorelli'' (Keyserling, 1877) – Colombia to Argentina *'' 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 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 – 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

External links

''Lycosa'' - arachnos.eu
{{Taxonbar, from=Q13320847 Lycosidae Araneomorphae genera Cosmopolitan spiders