Lycosa gigantea

Lycosa gigantea is a species of spider in the family Lycosidae. It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the Rustenburg Lycosa wolf spider.

Distribution

Lycosa gigantea is known only from the type locality Rustenburg in the South African province North West at 1171 m altitude.

Habitat and ecology

Lycosa gigantea inhabits the Savanna biome. These are free-living ground dwellers that live in open burrows.

Conservation

Lycosa gigantea is listed as Data Deficient for Taxonomic reasons by the South African National Biodiversity Institute. The status of the species remains obscure and additional sampling is needed to collect the male and to determine the species' range.

Taxonomy

Lycosa gigantea was originally described by Roewer in 1960 as Allohogna gigantea from Rustenburg. The species has not been revised and is known only from the female.