Allocosa


Allocosa is a spider genus of the wolf spider family, Lycosidae. The more than hundred recognized species are spread worldwide.

Description

The carapace is sometimes dark but usually has a pale median band and pale submarginal bands, with setae usually restricted to the eye area and mid-dorsal line. Viewed from above, the carapace is convex at the lateral margins and narrowed at the level of legs I.
The anterior eye row is slightly procurved, equal in length to the middle row or somewhat shorter, with anterior median eyes larger than anterior laterals and slightly closer to anterior laterals than to each other. The anterior median eyes are located on a small prominence. The sternum is yellow, orange, brown, or black.
The chelicerae have 2 or 3 promarginal and 3 retromarginal teeth. The legs are usually dark orange or red-brown with notched trochanters. The abdomen is ovoid with the dorsum usually dull yellow with fine to dense black spots or reticulation. The venter is dull yellow or orange, sometimes with small black spots or paired longitudinal dark bands. The anterior end has a cluster of dark, curved, erect setae.

Lifestyle

Species in this genus are free running ground dwellers.

Taxonomy

The genus Allocosa was described by Nathan Banks in 1900 with the type species Allocosa funerea. Roewer in 1959 and the World Spider Catalog list numerous species of this genus from Africa.
However, Dondale and Redner in 1983 revised the genus in North and Central America and found one of the important characters to be a bifid median apophysis of the male palp.
According to Russell-Smith, he has never observed this character in the thousands of African lycosids he has examined, including South African specimens, and is reasonably convinced that the genus is confined to the Americas.
The true placement of the African species assigned to Allocosa remains uncertain and would require re-examination of all the species assigned to the genus by Roewer.

Species

, this genus includes 130 species.
These species have articles on Wikipedia:Allocosa algoensis – South AfricaAllocosa aurata – South AfricaAllocosa aurichelis Roewer, 1959 – South AfricaAllocosa brasiliensis – BrazilAllocosa caboverdensis Schmidt & Krause, 1995 – Cape VerdeAllocosa chamberlini – United StatesAllocosa exserta Roewer, 1959 – Namibia, Botswana, South AfricaAllocosa faberrima – Namibia, Botswana, South AfricaAllocosa funerea – United States Allocosa gracilitarsis – Namibia, South AfricaAllocosa lawrencei – South Africa, EswatiniAllocosa montana Roewer, 1959 – Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South AfricaAllocosa nebulosa Roewer, 1959 – DR Congo, Namibia, South AfricaAllocosa schoenlandi – South AfricaAllocosa senex – Argentina, Brazil, UruguayAllocosa sublata – United StatesAllocosa subparva Dondale & Redner, 1983 – United States, MexicoAllocosa testacea Roewer, 1959 – South AfricaAllocosa umtalica – Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, EswatiniAllocosa abmingani – Australia Allocosa absoluta – United States, MexicoAllocosa adolphifriederici – Central, East Africa, ZanzibarAllocosa albiconspersa Roewer, 1959 – RwandaAllocosa algoensis – South AfricaAllocosa alticeps – ArgentinaAllocosa apora – USA to Costa RicaAllocosa aurata – South AfricaAllocosa aurichelis Roewer, 1959 – South AfricaAllocosa bersabae Roewer, 1959 – NamibiaAllocosa biserialis Roewer, 1959 – DR CongoAllocosa brasiliensis – BrazilAllocosa caboverdensis Schmidt & Krause, 1995 – Cape VerdeAllocosa calamarica – ColombiaAllocosa cambridgei – Turkey, SyriaAllocosa chamberlini – United StatesAllocosa clariventris – MoroccoAllocosa comotti – MyanmarAllocosa danneili – Papua New Guinea Allocosa delagoa Roewer, 1959 – MozambiqueAllocosa delesserti – EthiopiaAllocosa deserticola – EgyptAllocosa dingosaeformis – MoroccoAllocosa dubia – BrazilAllocosa edeala Roewer, 1959 – CameroonAllocosa efficiens Roewer, 1959 – Congo, RwandaAllocosa excusor – Australia Allocosa exserta Roewer, 1959 – Namibia, Botswana, South AfricaAllocosa faberrima – Namibia, Botswana, South AfricaAllocosa finkei – Australia Allocosa flavisternis – Australia Allocosa floridiana – United StatesAllocosa funerea – United States Allocosa furtiva – United StatesAllocosa gabesia Roewer, 1959 – TunisiaAllocosa glochidea Roewer, 1959 – NamibiaAllocosa gorontalensis – Indonesia Allocosa gracilitarsis – Namibia, South AfricaAllocosa guianensis – GuyanaAllocosa halei – Australia Allocosa handschini – MoroccoAllocosa hasselti – Australia Allocosa hirsuta – Central, East AfricaAllocosa hostilis – FijiAllocosa hugonis – Indonesia Allocosa illegalis – EthiopiaAllocosa ituriana – Central AfricaAllocosa iturianella Roewer, 1959 – Kenya, UgandaAllocosa kalaharensis – Botswana, South AfricaAllocosa karissimbica – Central, East AfricaAllocosa kazibana Roewer, 1959 – Congo, Rwanda, TanzaniaAllocosa laetella – Indonesia Allocosa lawrencei – South Africa, EswatiniAllocosa leucotricha Roewer, 1959 – CongoAllocosa lombokensis – Indonesia Allocosa mafensis – NamibiaAllocosa mahengea Roewer, 1959 – TanzaniaAllocosa manmaka Roewer, 1960 – AfghanistanAllocosa marindia Simó, Lise, Pompozzi & Laborda, 2017 – Brazil, UruguayAllocosa maroccana Roewer, 1959 – MoroccoAllocosa marshalli – ZimbabweAllocosa martinicensis – MartiniqueAllocosa marua Roewer, 1959 – CameroonAllocosa mascatensis – OmanAllocosa mexicana – MexicoAllocosa millica – United StatesAllocosa mirabilis – EthiopiaAllocosa mogadorensis – MoroccoAllocosa mokiensis Gertsch, 1934 – United States, MexicoAllocosa molicola – EthiopiaAllocosa montana Roewer, 1959 – Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South AfricaAllocosa morelosiana – United States, MexicoAllocosa mossambica Roewer, 1959 – MozambiqueAllocosa mossamedesa Roewer, 1959 – AngolaAllocosa mulaiki – United StatesAllocosa mutilata Mello-Leitão, 1937 – BrazilAllocosa nanahuensis – ParaguayAllocosa nebulosa Roewer, 1959 – DR Congo, Namibia, South AfricaAllocosa nigella – EthiopiaAllocosa nigripes – MoroccoAllocosa nigriventris – MoroccoAllocosa nigrofulva – VenezuelaAllocosa noctuabunda – United States, MexicoAllocosa obscuroides – Indonesia, AustraliaAllocosa obturata – NamibiaAllocosa olivieri – Syria, IsraelAllocosa orinus – PeruAllocosa otavia Roewer, 1959 – NamibiaAllocosa palabunda – Australia, New CaledoniaAllocosa pallideflava – NamibiaAllocosa panamena Chamberlin, 1925 – Mexico to EcuadorAllocosa paraguayensis – ParaguayAllocosa pardala – BrazilAllocosa parva – USA to Costa RicaAllocosa parvivulva – NamibiaAllocosa pellita Roewer, 1960 – AfghanistanAllocosa perfecta Roewer, 1959 – NamibiaAllocosa pistia – Central, East AfricaAllocosa plumipes Roewer, 1959 – TanzaniaAllocosa pugnatrix – Central America, CaribbeanAllocosa pulchella Roewer, 1959 – NamibiaAllocosa pylora Chamberlin, 1925 – United StatesAllocosa quadrativulva – VenezuelaAllocosa retenta – United StatesAllocosa ruwenzorensis – East AfricaAllocosa samoana – SamoaAllocosa sangtoda Roewer, 1960 – AfghanistanAllocosa schoenlandi – South AfricaAllocosa schubotzi – RwandaAllocosa sefrana – AlgeriaAllocosa senex – Argentina, Brazil, UruguayAllocosa sennaris Roewer, 1959 – SudanAllocosa sjostedti – East Africa, RwandaAllocosa soluta – BoliviaAllocosa sublata – United StatesAllocosa subparva Dondale & Redner, 1983 – United States, MexicoAllocosa tagax – MyanmarAllocosa tangana Roewer, 1959 – TanzaniaAllocosa tarentulina – North AfricaAllocosa tenebrosa – MyanmarAllocosa testacea Roewer, 1959 – South AfricaAllocosa thieli – Papua New Guinea Allocosa tremens – Tunisia, Libya, EgyptAllocosa tuberculipalpus – Ethiopia, Kenya, South AfricaAllocosa umtalica – Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, EswatiniAllocosa utahana Dondale & Redner, 1983 – United StatesAllocosa venezuelica – VenezuelaAllocosa veracruzana – MexicoAllocosa wittei Roewer, 1959 – CongoAllocosa yurae – Peru, Chile