Alopecosa is a spider genus in the family Lycosidae (wolf spiders), with about 160 species. They have a largely Eurasian distribution, although some species are found in North Africa and North America.
Most species grow up to 2 cm. Alopecosa females make a burrow in which they deposit their egg sac. The female then stays in the burrow guarding the sac until the eggs hatch.[citation needed]
The species in this genus have been traditionally grouped into sibling species complexes (groups) based on morphological characters, but, as morphology-based taxonomy can be unreliable, alternative methods have also been employed to identify species correctly. For example, differences in observed courtship and copulation behaviour have proved to be a useful tool for species identification and delimitation, particularly in cryptic species.[2] Molecular techniques have also been applied to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships between some species.[2]
Alopecosa restricta Mello-Leitão, 1940 – Argentina
Alopecosa rosea Mello-Leitão, 1945 – Argentina
Alopecosa saurica Marusik, 1995 – Kazakhstan
Alopecosa schmidti (Hahn, 1835) – Sweden, Central to eastern and south-eastern Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to South Siberia), Kazakhstan, Iran
Alopecosa sciophila Ponomarev, 2008 – Kazakhstan
Alopecosa sibirica (Kulczyński, 1908) – Russia (Middle Siberia to Far East), Mongolia, China
Alopecosa simoni (Thorell, 1872) – Mediterranean
Alopecosa sokhondoensis Logunov & Marusik, 1995 – Russia (Middle and South Siberia)
Alopecosa solitaria (Herman, 1879) – Italy, Central to south-eastern and eastern Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to South Siberia), Kazakhstan
Alopecosa solivaga (Kulczyński, 1901) – Russia (Europe, Siberia, Far East), Mongolia, China
Alopecosa solivaga annulata (Kulczyński, 1916) – Russia (West Siberia)
Alopecosa solivaga borea (Kulczyński, 1908) – Russia (Middle Siberia)
Alopecosa solivaga katunjica (Ermolajev, 1937) – Russia (Altai)
Alopecosa solivaga lineata (Kulczyński, 1916) – Russia (West Siberia)
Alopecosa spasskyi Ponomarev, 2008 – Russia (Europe), Kazakhstan
Alopecosa spinata Yu & Song, 1988 – China
Alopecosa steppica Ponomarev, 2007 – Ukraine, Russia (Europe), Kazakhstan
The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. The majority of species are native to Eurasia, although some species occur in Africa, and others are found in North and South America.[1]Alopecosa fabrilis is a critically endangered species found in Britain, with examples rediscovered in 2020 in the south of the country.[3] They favor dry climates.[citation needed]
^ abJust, Pavel; Opatova, Vera; Dolejš, Petr (2018). "Does reproductive behaviour reflect phylogenetic relationships? An example from Central European Alopecosa wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 185: 1039–1056. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly060.
Chen, Jun; Song, Da-Xiang & Gao, Jiu-Chun (2000), "Two new species of the genus Alopecosa Simon (Araneae: Lycosidae) from Inner Mongolia, China", Zoological Studies39(2): 133–137, PDF