spider
Can you tell me what kind of spider this is..and does it live in a hole..my Grandaughter was digging for cradads and found it,,,,,,Thank you,
Sue Moore in Silsbee,Texas
Hi Sue,
We believe this is a Burrowing Wolf Spider in the genus Geolycosa, but decided to contact Susan Hewitt who has been identifying many spiders for us. Here is what she humbly writes: “Hi Daniel, You guys know a lot more than I do, you really do, but from the little bit I have learned just now today, I think you are probably right that it is a burrowing wolf spider, genus Geolycosa. The thing is, that apparently there are five species of Geolycosa in Texas: fatifera, latifrons, missouriensis, riograndae and sepulchralis. I don?t know which one of those is the most commonly-found species in Texas, and I also don?t know where exactly, and under what circumstances, this particular spider was found. (Who knows how different those 5 species are to the naked eye/camera anyway — I can?t find images on the web to compare them all. In any case, it may quite likely not really possible to put a species ID on this spider using just one photo like this…. I think the genitalia are what officially differentiate them.) Best, Susan “