Sosippus janus

Sosippus janus can be distinguished from similar funnel-web building spiders by its eye arrangement: the two posterior median eyes are large and forward-facing, with a row of four much smaller eyes beneath them, plus two posterior lateral eyes flanking the others. This contrasts with true funnel-web weavers in family Agelenidae, which have a more compact eye arrangement with eyes of relatively equal size. The genus Sosippus is further distinguished from other Lycosidae by its web-building behavior.

United States. Specific state records are not documented in available sources.

Members of the genus Sosippus are unique among Lycosidae in constructing sheet-like webs with funnel-like retreats, rather than hunting nomadically. Females tether their egg sacs to their spinnerets until spiderlings hatch. Spiderlings ride on their mother's back until their next molt, then may share her web for extended periods.

• Agelenidae (funnel-web weavers)Construct nearly identical sheet-like webs with funnel retreats, but differ in eye arrangement (compact, equal-sized eyes vs. Sosippus pattern with two large posterior median eyes)
• Other Lycosidae (wolf spiders)Share the characteristic eye pattern but differ in behavior (nomadic hunters that do not build webs vs. web-building Sosippus)

• arachnid
• spider
• wolf spider
• web-building
• North America
• funnel-web

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• GBIF taxonomy match
• Catalogue of Life
• Bug Eric: Spider Sunday: Funnel-web Wolf Spiders
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