''Tigrosa'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s in the family

Lycosidae 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 ...

, found in North America.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Tigrosa'' was erected by Allen R. Brady in 2012. Prior to 1990, many medium to large wolf spiders (family Lycosidae) from North America were placed in the genus ''

Lycosa ''Lycosa'' is a genus of wolf spiders distributed throughout most of the world. Sometimes called the "true tarantula", though not closely related to the spiders most commonly called tarantulas today, ''Lycosa'' spp. can be distinguished from comm ...

''. In 1990 it was accepted that ''Lycosa'' was a Mediterranean genus and did not occur in North America; seven species were transferred to ''

Hogna ''Hogna'' is a genus of wolf spiders with more than 200 described species. It is found on all continents except Antarctica. Etymology The word ''Hogna'' might be a rough latinization of one of the Greek words '' ὄχνη'' (''ókhnē'') "p ...

''. A more detailed examination of the type species of ''Hogna'', ''

Hogna radiata ''Hogna radiata'' 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 ...

'', convinced Brady that a new genus was needed for some of the North American species that had been moved to ''Hogna''. Characters that distinguish ''Tigrosa'' from ''Hogna'' include the pattern on the upper (dorsal) surface of the

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

, the arrangement of the eyes, and the shape of the female

epigyne The epigyne or epigynum is the external genital structure of female spiders. As the epigyne varies greatly in form in different species, even in closely related ones, it often provides the most distinctive characteristic for recognizing species. ...

. The generic name ''Tigrosa'' is intended to mean "fierce like a tiger", referring to the patterning and behaviour of ''Tigrosa'' species.

Species

, 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: *''

Tigrosa annexa ''Tigrosa annexa'' is a species of wolf spider (Lycosidae) native to eastern North America from Texas, east to Florida, and north to Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. ...

'' (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1944) – USA *'' Tigrosa aspersa'' (Hentz, 1844) – USA, Canada *'' Tigrosa georgicola'' (Walckenaer, 1837) – USA *'' Tigrosa grandis'' (Banks, 1894) – USA *''

Tigrosa helluo ''Tigrosa helluo'' is a species of spider belonging to the family Lycosidae, also known as wolf spiders. ''T. helluo'' was formerly known as ''Hogna helluo'' before differences between dorsal color patterns, habitat preferences, body structu ...

'' (Walckenaer, 1837) (

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 ...

) – USA, Canada, Mexico

References

Lycosidae Araneomorphae genera Spiders of North America {{Lycosidae-stub