Pyrenecosa spinosa

Pyrenecosa spinosa is a species of wolf spider found in Andorra. The spider measures between 7 and 9 mm (0.28 and 0.35 in) in length. It has a brown carapace, or upper hard shell of the cephalothorax. and grey-black topside to its opisthosoma. The underside is lighter, particularly the sternum, the underside of the cephalothorax, which is light brown. Its legs are brown and yellow-brown. Its copulatory organs are distinctive, particularly the corners of the most visible female copulatory organ. The male has a ribbon-like embolus.

Pyrenecosa spinosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Lycosidae
Genus:	Pyrenecosa
Species:	P. spinosa
Binomial name
Pyrenecosa spinosa (Denis, 1938)

Taxonomy

Pyrenecosa spinosa is species of a wolf spider, a member of the family Lycosidae, that was first described by the arachnologist Jacques Denis in 1938.^[1] He originally allocated it to the genus Pardosa but he moved it to Acantholycosa slightly more than ten years later.^[2] According to Jan Bucher and Konrad Thaler, it is related to Acantholycosa pedestris.^[3] In 2003, Yuri Marusik, Galina Azarkina and Seppo Koponen moved the species to the new Pyrenecosa. The genus is one of the Pardosini genera alongside Acantholycosa, Mongolicosa, Sibirocosa, and Pardosa.^[4]

Description

The spider measures typically between 7 and 9 mm (0.28 and 0.35 in) long. It has a dark brown carapace, the upperside of the cephalothorax, and light brown sternum, underneath. Its opisthosoma is grey-black on top and lighter on the bottom. Its legs are brown on top and yellowish-brown underneath.^[5] The female has an epigyne, the external and most visible of its copulatory organs, that has distinctive corners and a very narrow groove in the middle. The male has a ribbon-like embolus that projects from the palpal bulb and a claw-like projection near the top of the bulb called a terminal apophysis.^[3]

Distribution

The species is endemic to Andorra.^[1] It has been found living at relatively low altitudes, typically 1,555 m (5,102 ft) above sea level.^[3]