Allocosa

{{Short description|Genus of spiders}} {{Italic title}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = | image = Allocosa lawrencei 300601980 541638936.jpg | image_caption = male ''A. lawrencei'' | image2 = Allocosa funerea.jpg | image2_caption = ''A. funerea'' | taxon = Allocosa | authority = Banks, 1900<ref name=wsc /> | type_species = ''Lycosa funerea'' | type_species_authority = Hentz, 1844<ref name=wsc /> | diversity = 130 species | diversity_link = #Species | range_map = }}

'''''Allocosa''''' is a spider genus of the wolf spider family, Lycosidae. The more than hundred recognized species are spread worldwide.<ref name=wsc />

==Description== The carapace is sometimes dark but usually has a pale median band and pale submarginal bands, with setae usually restricted to the eye area and mid-dorsal line. Viewed from above, the carapace is convex at the lateral margins and narrowed at the level of legs I.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />

The anterior eye row is slightly procurved, equal in length to the middle row or somewhat shorter, with anterior median eyes larger than anterior laterals and slightly closer to anterior laterals than to each other. The anterior median eyes are located on a small prominence. The sternum is yellow, orange, brown, or black.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />

The chelicerae have 2 or 3 promarginal and 3 retromarginal teeth. The legs are usually dark orange or red-brown with notched trochanters. The abdomen is ovoid with the dorsum usually dull yellow with fine to dense black spots or reticulation. The venter is dull yellow or orange, sometimes with small black spots or paired longitudinal dark bands. The anterior end has a cluster of dark, curved, erect setae.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />

==Lifestyle== thumb|center|420px|female ''A. funerea'' with egg sac

Species in this genus are free running ground dwellers.<ref name="dippenaar2021" /> {{expand section|date=October 2025}}

==Taxonomy== The genus ''Allocosa'' was described by Nathan Banks in 1900 with the type species ''Allocosa funerea'' (Hentz, 1844).<ref name="banks1900" /> Roewer in 1959 and the World Spider Catalog list numerous species of this genus from Africa.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />

However, Dondale and Redner in 1983 revised the genus in North and Central America and found one of the important characters to be a bifid median apophysis of the male palp.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />

According to Russell-Smith, he has never observed this character in the thousands of African lycosids he has examined, including South African specimens, and is reasonably convinced that the genus is confined to the Americas.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />

The true placement of the African species assigned to ''Allocosa'' remains uncertain and would require re-examination of all the species assigned to the genus by Roewer.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />

==Species== <gallery mode=packed heights=140px> Allocosa brasiliensis male - cropped.jpg|male ''A. brasiliensis'' Allocosa subparva by Jesse Rorabaugh.jpg|female ''A. subparva'' Allocosa testacea 304918224 549731217.jpg|female ''A. testacea'' </gallery>

{{as of|2025|10}}, this genus includes 130 species.<ref name="wsc" />

These species have articles on Wikipedia: {{Div col}} * ''Allocosa algoensis'' (Pocock, 1900) – South Africa * ''Allocosa aurata'' (Purcell, 1903) – South Africa * ''Allocosa aurichelis'' Roewer, 1959 – South Africa * ''Allocosa brasiliensis'' (Petrunkevitch, 1910) – Brazil * ''Allocosa caboverdensis'' Schmidt & Krause, 1995 – Cape Verde * ''Allocosa chamberlini'' (Gertsch, 1934) – United States * ''Allocosa exserta'' Roewer, 1959 – Namibia, Botswana, South Africa * ''Allocosa faberrima'' (Simon, 1910) – Namibia, Botswana, South Africa * ''Allocosa funerea'' (Hentz, 1844) – United States (type species) * ''Allocosa gracilitarsis'' (Purcell, 1903) – Namibia, South Africa * ''Allocosa lawrencei'' (Roewer, 1951) – South Africa, Eswatini * ''Allocosa montana'' Roewer, 1959 – Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa * ''Allocosa nebulosa'' Roewer, 1959 – DR Congo, Namibia, South Africa * ''Allocosa schoenlandi'' (Pocock, 1900) – South Africa * ''Allocosa senex'' (Mello-Leitão, 1945) – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay * ''Allocosa sublata'' (Montgomery, 1902) – United States * ''Allocosa subparva'' Dondale & Redner, 1983 – United States, Mexico * ''Allocosa testacea'' Roewer, 1959 – South Africa * ''Allocosa umtalica'' (Purcell, 1903) – Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Eswatini {{Div col end}}

{{Collapse top|Complete species list {{as of|2025|10|lc=yes}}}} {{Div col}} * ''Allocosa abmingani'' (Hickman, 1944) – Australia (South Australia) * ''Allocosa absoluta'' (Gertsch, 1934) – United States, Mexico * ''Allocosa adolphifriederici'' (Strand, 1913) – Central, East Africa, Zanzibar * ''Allocosa albiconspersa'' Roewer, 1959 – Rwanda * ''Allocosa algoensis'' (Pocock, 1900) – South Africa * ''Allocosa alticeps'' (Mello-Leitão, 1944) – Argentina * ''Allocosa apora'' (Gertsch, 1934) – USA to Costa Rica * ''Allocosa aurata'' (Purcell, 1903) – South Africa * ''Allocosa aurichelis'' Roewer, 1959 – South Africa * ''Allocosa bersabae'' Roewer, 1959 – Namibia * ''Allocosa biserialis'' Roewer, 1959 – DR Congo * ''Allocosa brasiliensis'' (Petrunkevitch, 1910) – Brazil * ''Allocosa caboverdensis'' Schmidt & Krause, 1995 – Cape Verde * ''Allocosa calamarica'' (Strand, 1914) – Colombia * ''Allocosa cambridgei'' (Simon, 1876) – Turkey, Syria * ''Allocosa chamberlini'' (Gertsch, 1934) – United States * ''Allocosa clariventris'' (Guy, 1966) – Morocco * ''Allocosa comotti'' (Thorell, 1887) – Myanmar * ''Allocosa danneili'' (Dahl, 1908) – Papua New Guinea (Bismarck Arch.) * ''Allocosa delagoa'' Roewer, 1959 – Mozambique * ''Allocosa delesserti'' (Caporiacco, 1941) – Ethiopia * ''Allocosa deserticola'' (Simon, 1898) – Egypt * ''Allocosa dingosaeformis'' (Guy, 1966) – Morocco * ''Allocosa dubia'' (Walckenaer, 1837) – Brazil * ''Allocosa edeala'' Roewer, 1959 – Cameroon * ''Allocosa efficiens'' Roewer, 1959 – Congo, Rwanda * ''Allocosa excusor'' (L. Koch, 1867) – Australia (Queensland) * ''Allocosa exserta'' Roewer, 1959 – Namibia, Botswana, South Africa * ''Allocosa faberrima'' (Simon, 1910) – Namibia, Botswana, South Africa * ''Allocosa finkei'' (Hickman, 1944) – Australia (South Australia) * ''Allocosa flavisternis'' (L. Koch, 1877) – Australia (Queensland, New South Wales) * ''Allocosa floridiana'' (Chamberlin, 1908) – United States * ''Allocosa funerea'' (Hentz, 1844) – United States (type species) * ''Allocosa furtiva'' (Gertsch, 1934) – United States * ''Allocosa gabesia'' Roewer, 1959 – Tunisia * ''Allocosa glochidea'' Roewer, 1959 – Namibia * ''Allocosa gorontalensis'' (Merian, 1911) – Indonesia (Sulawesi) * ''Allocosa gracilitarsis'' (Purcell, 1903) – Namibia, South Africa * ''Allocosa guianensis'' (Caporiacco, 1947) – Guyana * ''Allocosa halei'' (Hickman, 1944) – Australia (Northern Territory) * ''Allocosa handschini'' (Schenkel, 1937) – Morocco * ''Allocosa hasselti'' (L. Koch, 1877) – Australia (Queensland, South Australia) * ''Allocosa hirsuta'' (Bösenberg & Lenz, 1895) – Central, East Africa * ''Allocosa hostilis'' (L. Koch, 1877) – Fiji * ''Allocosa hugonis'' (Strand, 1911) – Indonesia (Aru Is.) * ''Allocosa illegalis'' (Strand, 1906) – Ethiopia * ''Allocosa ituriana'' (Strand, 1913) – Central Africa * ''Allocosa iturianella'' Roewer, 1959 – Kenya, Uganda * ''Allocosa kalaharensis'' (Simon, 1910) – Botswana, South Africa * ''Allocosa karissimbica'' (Strand, 1913) – Central, East Africa * ''Allocosa kazibana'' Roewer, 1959 – Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania * ''Allocosa laetella'' (Strand, 1907) – Indonesia (Moluccas) * ''Allocosa lawrencei'' (Roewer, 1951) – South Africa, Eswatini * ''Allocosa leucotricha'' Roewer, 1959 – Congo * ''Allocosa lombokensis'' (Strand, 1913) – Indonesia (Lombok) * ''Allocosa mafensis'' (Lawrence, 1927) – Namibia * ''Allocosa mahengea'' Roewer, 1959 – Tanzania * ''Allocosa manmaka'' Roewer, 1960 – Afghanistan * ''Allocosa marindia'' Simó, Lise, Pompozzi & Laborda, 2017 – Brazil, Uruguay * ''Allocosa maroccana'' Roewer, 1959 – Morocco * ''Allocosa marshalli'' (Pocock, 1901) – Zimbabwe * ''Allocosa martinicensis'' (Strand, 1910) – Martinique * ''Allocosa marua'' Roewer, 1959 – Cameroon * ''Allocosa mascatensis'' (Simon, 1898) – Oman * ''Allocosa mexicana'' (Banks, 1898) – Mexico * ''Allocosa millica'' (Strand, 1906) – United States * ''Allocosa mirabilis'' (Strand, 1906) – Ethiopia * ''Allocosa mogadorensis'' (Simon, 1909) – Morocco * ''Allocosa mokiensis'' Gertsch, 1934 – United States, Mexico * ''Allocosa molicola'' (Strand, 1906) – Ethiopia * ''Allocosa montana'' Roewer, 1959 – Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa * ''Allocosa morelosiana'' (Gertsch & Davis, 1940) – United States, Mexico * ''Allocosa mossambica'' Roewer, 1959 – Mozambique * ''Allocosa mossamedesa'' Roewer, 1959 – Angola * ''Allocosa mulaiki'' (Gertsch, 1934) – United States * ''Allocosa mutilata'' Mello-Leitão, 1937 – Brazil * ''Allocosa nanahuensis'' (Badcock, 1932) – Paraguay * ''Allocosa nebulosa'' Roewer, 1959 – DR Congo, Namibia, South Africa * ''Allocosa nigella'' (Caporiacco, 1940) – Ethiopia * ''Allocosa nigripes'' (Guy, 1966) – Morocco * ''Allocosa nigriventris'' (Guy, 1966) – Morocco * ''Allocosa nigrofulva'' (Caporiacco, 1955) – Venezuela * ''Allocosa noctuabunda'' (Montgomery, 1904) – United States, Mexico * ''Allocosa obscuroides'' (Strand, 1906) – Indonesia (Java), Australia * ''Allocosa obturata'' (Lawrence, 1928) – Namibia * ''Allocosa olivieri'' (Simon, 1876) – Syria, Israel * ''Allocosa orinus'' (Chamberlin, 1916) – Peru * ''Allocosa otavia'' Roewer, 1959 – Namibia * ''Allocosa palabunda'' (L. Koch, 1877) – Australia, New Caledonia * ''Allocosa pallideflava'' (Lawrence, 1936) – Namibia * ''Allocosa panamena'' Chamberlin, 1925 – Mexico to Ecuador * ''Allocosa paraguayensis'' (Roewer, 1951) – Paraguay * ''Allocosa pardala'' (Strand, 1909) – Brazil * ''Allocosa parva'' (Banks, 1894) – USA to Costa Rica * ''Allocosa parvivulva'' (Lawrence, 1927) – Namibia * ''Allocosa pellita'' Roewer, 1960 – Afghanistan * ''Allocosa perfecta'' Roewer, 1959 – Namibia * ''Allocosa pistia'' (Strand, 1913) – Central, East Africa * ''Allocosa plumipes'' Roewer, 1959 – Tanzania * ''Allocosa pugnatrix'' (Keyserling, 1877) – Central America, Caribbean * ''Allocosa pulchella'' Roewer, 1959 – Namibia * ''Allocosa pylora'' Chamberlin, 1925 – United States * ''Allocosa quadrativulva'' (Caporiacco, 1955) – Venezuela * ''Allocosa retenta'' (Gertsch & Wallace, 1935) – United States * ''Allocosa ruwenzorensis'' (Strand, 1913) – East Africa * ''Allocosa samoana'' (Roewer, 1951) – Samoa * ''Allocosa sangtoda'' Roewer, 1960 – Afghanistan * ''Allocosa schoenlandi'' (Pocock, 1900) – South Africa * ''Allocosa schubotzi'' (Strand, 1913) – Rwanda * ''Allocosa sefrana'' (Schenkel, 1937) – Algeria * ''Allocosa senex'' (Mello-Leitão, 1945) – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay * ''Allocosa sennaris'' Roewer, 1959 – Sudan * ''Allocosa sjostedti'' (Lessert, 1926) – East Africa, Rwanda * ''Allocosa soluta'' (Tullgren, 1905) – Bolivia * ''Allocosa sublata'' (Montgomery, 1902) – United States * ''Allocosa subparva'' Dondale & Redner, 1983 – United States, Mexico * ''Allocosa tagax'' (Thorell, 1897) – Myanmar * ''Allocosa tangana'' Roewer, 1959 – Tanzania * ''Allocosa tarentulina'' (Audouin, 1826) – North Africa * ''Allocosa tenebrosa'' (Thorell, 1897) – Myanmar * ''Allocosa testacea'' Roewer, 1959 – South Africa * ''Allocosa thieli'' (Dahl, 1908) – Papua New Guinea (Bismarck Arch.) * ''Allocosa tremens'' (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876) – Tunisia, Libya, Egypt * ''Allocosa tuberculipalpus'' (Caporiacco, 1940) – Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa * ''Allocosa umtalica'' (Purcell, 1903) – Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Eswatini * ''Allocosa utahana'' Dondale & Redner, 1983 – United States * ''Allocosa venezuelica'' (Caporiacco, 1955) – Venezuela * ''Allocosa veracruzana'' (Gertsch & Davis, 1940) – Mexico * ''Allocosa wittei'' Roewer, 1959 – Congo * ''Allocosa yurae'' (Strand, 1908) – Peru, Chile {{Div col end}} {{Collapse bottom}}

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="wsc">{{cite web |url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/1769 |title=Gen. ''Allocosa'' Banks, 1900 |publisher=World Spider Catalog |doi=10.24436/2 |access-date=7 October 2025 }}</ref> <ref name="banks1900">{{cite journal |last=Banks |first=N. |year=1900 |title=Some Arachnida from Alabama |journal=Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia |volume=52 |pages=529-543 }}</ref> <ref name="dippenaar2021">{{cite book |last1=Dippenaar-Schoeman |first1=A.S. |last2=Haddad |first2=C.R. |last3=Foord |first3=S.H. |last4=Lotz |first4=L.N. |year=2021 |title=The Lycosidae of South Africa. Version 1: part 1 (A-H) |publisher=South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide |page=5 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.6324709}}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4 }}</ref> }}

Category:Lycosidae genera Category:Cosmopolitan spiders Category:Taxa named by Nathan Banks