XV LYCOSIDAE A417 
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 be- 
neath the abdomen. Some of them burrow in the loose earth or 
sand, but others seem to have nothing in the way of a habitation. 
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 com- 
paratively 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 | nomencla- 
ture, that it is diffi- 
cult to tell what 
creature is intended 
by it. In America 
the Avicularidae are 
commonly called 
Tarantulas. 
The two chief 
genera of this exten- 
sive family are Lycosa 
and Pardosa. 
The genus Lycosa 
includes about 400 
species. It has been 
eeu uP ao We Fic. 214.—Lycosid Spiders. 1, Lycosa fabrilis, ? ; 
to time into various 2, Lycosa picta, 2 ; 3, Pardosa amentata, ?. 
genera (Zvrochosa, 
Pirata, Tarentula, etc.), but these glide into each other by im- 
perceptible 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 hand- 
VOL. LV , 25 
