Trabea (spider)

Trabea is an African genus of wolf spiders, with two species found in Europe.^[1] It was first described by Eugène Simon in 1876.^[2]

Trabea
Female T. ornatipalpis
Female T. purcelli
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Lycosidae
Genus:	Trabea Simon, 1876[1]
Type species
T. paradoxa Simon, 1876
Species
16, see text
Synonyms[1]
Trabaeosa

Description

Trabea are small to large spiders ranging from 3.1 to 7.8 mm in length. The sexes are alike with slight colour dimorphism in some species.^[3]

The carapace is normally high with a markedly square-fronted appearance due to enlargement of the second row of eyes. Two longitudinal brown bands extend from behind the posterior eyes, though a few species lack distinct markings. The anterior row of eyes is strongly procurved with eyes either equidistant or with the lateral eyes further from the median eyes than the distance between the median eyes themselves. The second row eyes are much enlarged relative to the width of the anterior row, and the width of the posterior row is greater than the second row. The region of all eyes is blackened.^[3]

Life style

Very little has been reported on the biology of Trabea species. Russell-Smith (1982) observed the South African species T. nigriceps running actively in open grassland on a dry hillside at Grahamstown.^[3]

The raised carapace and black pedipalps give this species a strong superficial resemblance to some southern African species of Pardosa such as P. crassipalpis. By contrast, T. ornatipalpis and T. rubriceps have only been found in shady places in tussocky plants and under stones.^[3]

Trabea heteroculata from East Africa and T. ornatipalpis appear to be restricted to montane areas where they have been found between 2000 and 3000 m.^[3]

Species

• 
  female T. heteroculata
• 
  female T. ornatipalpis
• 
  T. paradoxa
• 
  juvenile T. purcelli

As of October 2025^[update], this genus includes sixteen species:^[1]

• Trabea bipunctata (Roewer, 1959) – DR Congo, Rwanda, Malawi, Ethiopia
• Trabea cazorla Snazell, 1983 – Spain, Morocco, Algeria
• Trabea henrardi Alderweireldt & Jocqué, 2022 – Ivory Coast
• Trabea heteroculata Strand, 1913 – Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa
• Trabea hirsuta Russell-Smith & Logunov, 2025 – South Africa
• Trabea natalensis Russell-Smith, 1982 – South Africa, Lesotho
• Trabea nigriceps Purcell, 1903 – South Africa
• Trabea nigristernis Alderweireldt, 1999 – Malawi
• Trabea obscura Russell-Smith & Logunov, 2025 – South Africa
• Trabea ornatipalpis Russell-Smith, 1982 – South Africa
• Trabea paradoxa Simon, 1876 – Southern Europe, Turkey (type species)
• Trabea purcelli Roewer, 1951 – DR Congo, South Africa
• Trabea rubriceps Lawrence, 1952 – South Africa, Lesotho
• Trabea setula Alderweireldt, 1999 – Malawi
• Trabea unicolor Purcell, 1903 – South Africa
• Trabea varia Purcell, 1903 – South Africa