Trochosa
Genus of spiders
Trochosa is a large wolf spider genus found worldwide.
They are free-running ground dwellers.
Description
Trochosa are medium-sized spiders with general brown coloration. The body and legs are hairy and characteristically marked.
The carapace has a characteristic broad pale central band that is expanded anteriorly and contains two darker patches of variable extent and shape. The anterior row of eyes is slightly wider than the second row (the posterior median eyes).
The legs are stout and not very long compared to body size. The fourth tibia has a proximal spine dorsally that is usually thinner or more drawn out than the distal one, and is sometimes reduced to a bristle.
Taxonomy
This genus is well-known in Europe and North America but has never been properly revised from Africa. The male genitalia closely resemble those of Hogna , making them of limited use for generic diagnosis.
Species
T. aquatica
T. ruricola
T. sepulchralis
T. terricola
As of October 2025 [ update] , this genus includes 93 species:
Trochosa abdita (Gertsch , 1934) – United States
Trochosa adjacens O. Pickard-Cambridge , 1885 – China (Yarkand)
Trochosa albifrons (Roewer , 1960) – DR Congo
Trochosa albipilosa (Roewer, 1960) – South Africa
Trochosa albomarginata (Roewer, 1960) – Zimbabwe
Trochosa alpina X. Y. Zhang & Z. S. Zhang, 2025 – China
Trochosa alviolai Barrion & Litsinger , 1995 – Philippines
Trochosa aperta (Roewer, 1960) – Namibia
Trochosa aquatica Tanaka, 1985 – China, Korea , Japan
Trochosa arctosina Caporiacco , 1947 – Venezuela , Guyana
Trochosa bannaensis Yin & Chen, 1995 – China, Laos
Trochosa beltran (Mello-Leitão , 1942) – Argentina
Trochosa bukobae (Strand , 1916) – East Africa
Trochosa cachetiensis Mcheidze , 1997 – Caucasus (Russia, Georgia)
Trochosa canapii Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
Trochosa charmina (Strand, 1916) – Cameroon
Trochosa corporaali (Reimoser, 1935) – China
Trochosa dentichelis Buchar, 1997 – Bhutan , India
Trochosa eberlanzi (Roewer, 1960) – Namibia
Trochosa entebbensis (Lessert , 1915) – DR Congo , Uganda , Tanzania
Trochosa eugeni (Roewer, 1951) – South Africa
Trochosa fabella (Karsch , 1879) – West, Central Africa
Trochosa fageli Roewer, 1960 – Congo
Trochosa fusca (Keyserling , 1877) – Central America, Caribbean
Trochosa gentilis (Roewer, 1960) – Cameroon
Trochosa glarea McKay, 1979 – Australia (Queensland)
Trochosa gravelyi Buchar, 1976 – Nepal
Trochosa guatemala Chamberlin & Ivie, 1942 – Guatemala
Trochosa gunturensis Patel & Reddy, 1993 – India
Trochosa hirtipes Ponomarev, 2009 – Russia (Caucasus)
Trochosa hispanica Simon , 1870 – Mediterranean to Central Asia, Iran
Trochosa hoggi (Lessert, 1926) – Tanzania
Trochosa honggiana Barrion, Barrion-Dupo & Heong, 2013 – China (Hainan)
Trochosa humicola Bertkau, 1880 – Haiti , Brazil , Guyana
Trochosa hungarica Herman, 1879 – Hungary
Trochosa immaculata Savelyeva, 1972 – Kazakhstan
Trochosa insignis O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1898 – Costa Rica
Trochosa intermedia (Roewer, 1960) – Zimbabwe
Trochosa iviei (Gertsch & Wallace, 1937) – Mexico
Trochosa kaieteurensis (Gertsch & Wallace, 1937) – Guyana
Trochosa kalukanai (Simon, 1900) – Hawaii
Trochosa kaswabilengae (Roewer, 1960) – Congo
Trochosa liberiana (Roewer, 1960) – Liberia
Trochosa longa Qu, Peng & Yin, 2010 – China
Trochosa lucasi (Roewer, 1951) – Canary Islands
Trochosa lugubris O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885 – Tajikistan , Afghanistan , China (Yarkand)
Trochosa magdalenensis (Strand, 1914) – Colombia
Trochosa magna (Roewer, 1960) – Liberia
Trochosa malayana (Doleschall , 1859) – Indonesia (Ambon)
Trochosa marusiki Shafaie, Koponen, Nadolny, Kunt & Mirshamsi, 2022 – Iran
Trochosa masumbica (Strand, 1916) – East Africa
Trochosa melloi Roewer, 1951 – Brazil
Trochosa meruensis (Lessert, 1926) – Tanzania
Trochosa minima (Roewer, 1960) – Congo, Kenya
Trochosa modesta (Roewer, 1960) – South Africa
Trochosa moluccensis Thorell , 1878 – Indonesia (Ambon)
Trochosa mossambicus (Roewer, 1960) – Mozambique
Trochosa mundamea Roewer, 1960 – Cameroon, Sierra Leone
Trochosa nigerrima (Roewer, 1960) – South Africa
Trochosa niveopilosa (Mello-Leitão, 1938) – Argentina
Trochosa nossibeensis (Strand, 1907) – Madagascar
Trochosa obscura (Roewer, 1960) – Rwanda
Trochosa obscura (Mello-Leitão, 1943) – Argentina
Trochosa papakula (Strand, 1911) – Indonesia (Moluccas), New Guinea
Trochosa paranaensis (Mello-Leitão, 1937) – Brazil
Trochosa pardaloides (Mello-Leitão, 1937) – Brazil
Trochosa pardosella (Strand, 1906) – Ethiopia
Trochosa parviguttata (Strand, 1906) – Ethiopia
Trochosa pelengena (Roewer, 1960) – Congo
Trochosa praetecta L. Koch , 1875 – Ethiopia
Trochosa presumptuosa (Holmberg, 1876) – Argentina
Trochosa propinqua O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885 – India
Trochosa pseudofurva (Strand, 1906) – Cameroon
Trochosa quinquefasciata Roewer, 1960 – Tanzania
Trochosa reichardtiana (Strand, 1916) – Hispaniola
Trochosa reimoseri Bristowe, 1931 – Indonesia (Krakatau)
Trochosa robusta (Simon, 1876) – Europe, Turkey , Caucasus, Russia (Europe to South Siberia), Iran, China, Japan
Trochosa ruandanica (Roewer, 1960) – Rwanda
Trochosa ruricola (De Geer, 1778) – Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to Far East), Kazakhstan, Iran, Central Asia, China, Japan, Korea. Introduced to North America, Bermuda , Caribbean (type species)
Trochosa ruricoloides Schenkel , 1963 – India, China, Taiwan , Laos, Thailand , Malaysia , Indonesia, Papua New Guinea
Trochosa sanlorenziana (Petrunkevitch, 1925) – Panama
Trochosa semoni Simon, 1896 – Indonesia (Java)
Trochosa sepulchralis (Montgomery, 1902) – United States
Trochosa sericea (Simon, 1898) – Brazil
Trochosa spinipalpis (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge , 1895) – Europe, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to South Siberia), China, Japan
Trochosa suiningensis Peng, Yin, Zhang & Kim, 1997 – China
Trochosa tenuis (Roewer, 1960) – Ethiopia
Trochosa terricola Thorell, 1856 – North America, Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to Far East), Kazakhstan, Iran, Central Asia, China, Japan
Trochosa unmunsanensis Paik, 1994 – Korea
Trochosa urbana O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876 – North Africa, Ethiopia to Seychelles, Madagascar (Nosy Be), Israel , Iraq
Trochosa ursina (Schenkel, 1936) – China
Trochosa vulvella (Strand, 1907) – Japan
Trochosa wuchangensis (Schenkel, 1963) – China
References
1 2 3 4 "Genus Trochosa" . World Spider Catalog. doi :10.24436/2 . Retrieved 2025-10-02 .
1 2 3 4 5 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Lycosidae of South Africa. Version 1: part 2 (L-Z) . South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 71. doi :10.5281/zenodo.6324723 . This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.