Pardosa laura
| Pardosa laura | |
|---|---|
| female with spiderlings | |
| male from Hong Kong | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Lycosidae |
| Genus: | Pardosa |
| Species: | P. laura
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pardosa laura Karsch, 1879
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Pardosa laura is a species of wolf spider in the family Lycosidae. It has a widespread distribution across East Asia.[1]
Distribution
P. laura is distributed across Russia (Far East), Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan.[1] The species is commonly found in mountainous grassland areas at the foot of hills and mountains.[2]
Habitat
The species is typically found in grasslands at the base of mountains and hills.[2] It inhabits agricultural areas including rice fields and cotton fields across its range.[3][4]
Description
Pardosa laura is a medium-sized wolf spider with notable sexual dimorphism in coloration. Adult females measure 4.0–7.2 mm in body length, while males are smaller at 3.7–5.2 mm.[2]
The carapace of females is dark reddish-brown, while males are almost entirely black. The anterior median eyes are slightly larger than the anterior lateral eyes. The clypeus is pale yellowish-brown and wider than the diameter of the anterior median eyes. The maxillae and labium are greyish-brown.[2]
In females, the sternum is pale yellowish-brown with a reddish-brown U-shaped marking in the central area, while in males it is blackish-grey with a narrow yellowish-brown longitudinal stripe in the upper central portion. The dorsal abdomen of females is yellowish-brown with irregular dark brown markings, while males have a reddish-brown abdomen with six pairs of black spots arranged in rows on the posterior half.[2]
The legs are generally yellowish-brown with ring patterns visible from the femur to the tibia, except for the whitish-yellow coxae and the dark brown tips of the first leg patellae. The pedipalps are dark brown except for the yellowish-brown patella, with white hairs at the tip of the femur and base of the patella, and numerous black hairs at the tip of the tibia.[2]
Life cycle
Adult females can be found from May to mid-September, while males have a shorter active period from May to early July. Egg sac formation occurs in July.[2]
Taxonomy
The species was first described by Friedrich Karsch in 1879 based on material from Japan.[5] The taxonomic history of P. laura is complex, with several species names that have been synonymized with it over time, including Tarentula palus Dönitz & Strand, 1906, Pirata longipedis Saito, 1939, and Pardosa diversa Tanaka, 1985.[1]
Type specimens are housed in the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt am Main, Germany (fragments) and the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany (syntypes).[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Pardosa laura Karsch, 1879". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g Tanaka, H. (2009). "Lycosidae". In Ono, H. (ed.). The spiders of Japan with keys to the families and genera and illustrations of the species. Kanagawa: Tokai University Press. pp. 222–248.
- ^ Song, D. X. (1980). Farm Spiders. Beijing: Science Press. p. 247.
- ^ Zhao, J. Z. (1993). Spiders in the cotton fields in China. Wuhan: Wuhan Publishing House. p. 552.
- ^ Karsch, F. (1879). "Baustoffe zu einer Spinnenfauna von Japan". Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins der Preussischen Rheinlande und Westfalens. 36: 57–105.