There are some thirty species of Dolomedes scattered over the temperate regions of the world. D. fimbriatus is a rare species in marshy spots in the south of England, and is one of the largest British spiders. The ground-colour is deep brown, with two longitudinal yellowish stripes both on cephalothorax and abdomen.
The genus Dolomedes is replaced by Thaumasia in South America.
Fam. 32. Lycosidae.—These are what are popularly known as “Wolf-spiders.” They are vagabond hunting spiders, spinning no snare, but chasing their prey along the ground, and in the breeding season carrying their egg-bags with them, attached beneath the abdomen. Some of them burrow in the loose earth or sand, but others seem to have nothing in the way of a habitation.
Fig. [214].—Lycosid Spiders. 1, Lycosa fabrilis, ♀; 2, Lycosa picta, ♀; 3, Pardosa amentata, ♀.
The arrangement of the eyes is very characteristic. They are in three rows. The front row consists of four small eyes above the insertion of the chelicerae, and directed forwards. Two comparatively very large eyes form the next row, and occupy the upper angles of the facies, being also directed forwards. The third row consists of two medium-sized eyes placed dorso-laterally on the caput, some distance behind the rest, and looking upwards. The tarsi are three-clawed. The so-called “Tarantula” spiders belong to this group, though the name has been so abused in popular usage, and has passed through so many vicissitudes in scientific nomenclature, that it is difficult to tell what creature is intended by it. In America the Aviculariidae are commonly called Tarantulas.
The two chief genera of this extensive family are Lycosa and Pardosa.
The genus Lycosa includes about 400 species. It has been broken up from time to time into various genera (Trochosa, Pirata, Tarentula, etc.), but these glide into each other by imperceptible degrees, and are now discarded. They are large or moderate-sized spiders, found in every part of the world. About twenty species are British, some of them being fine and handsomely marked. One of the prettiest is Lycosa picta, common on the sandhills in some localities.
Some exotic species are very large, Lycosa ingens, from Madeira, measuring sometimes more than an inch and a half in length.
Pardosa (Fig. [188], p. 341) is not so rich in species, but the individuals of some species are wonderfully numerous. Hundreds of P. lugubris, for example, may be seen scampering over the dead leaves of a wood in the autumn. These spiders are generally sombrely coloured and well covered with hair. Perhaps the commonest and most widely spread species in this country is P. amentata.