Ground-spider
Guides
Alopecosa pictilis
Painted Wolf Spider
Alopecosa pictilis is a wolf spider species in the family Lycosidae, first described by Emerton in 1885. It is one of approximately 150 species in the genus Alopecosa, a group of ground-dwelling hunting spiders distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. The species exhibits the typical wolf spider characteristics of active hunting behavior and maternal care of egg sacs. Records indicate it has been observed in at least 29 documented occurrences.
Callilepis gertschi
Callilepis gertschi is a ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, described by Platnick in 1975. Like other members of its genus, it possesses ornate coloration and cylindrical spinnerets characteristic of gnaphosids. The genus Callilepis is noted for being morphologically similar to the colorful genus Sergiolus, with separation requiring examination of genitalia. Very few observations of this species have been recorded.
Callilepis gosoga
Callilepis gosoga is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Chamberlin & Gertsch in 1940. It is known from the United States. Like other members of its genus, it belongs to a group of ornate gnaphosids that share superficial similarities with the more extensively studied genus Sergiolus.
Callilepis imbecilla
Ground spider
Callilepis imbecilla is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae. It occurs in the United States and Canada. Like other members of its genus, it is an ornate, colorful spider related to the more commonly observed Sergiolus. The species is poorly documented in scientific literature and field observations.
Camillina pulchra
Camillina pulchra is a ground spider species in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Keyserling in 1891. It is native to South America, with confirmed records from Brazil and Argentina. The species has been introduced to the United States, where it occurs as a non-native population. As a member of Gnaphosidae, it is a wandering hunter that does not build webs for prey capture.
Castianeira descripta
Red-spotted Ant-mimic Sac Spider, Redspotted Antmimic
Castianeira descripta is a small ant-mimicking spider in the family Corinnidae. It exhibits Batesian mimicry of ants, particularly carpenter ants, through body shape, coloration, and behavioral adaptations. The species is distributed across the United States and Canada.
Castianeira dorsata
Castianeira dorsata is a species of true spider in the family Corinnidae, first described by Banks in 1898. It is distributed across the United States and Mexico. Like other members of its genus, it is an ant-mimicking spider, though specific behavioral and ecological details for this species remain poorly documented.
Cesonia
Cesonia is a genus of ground spiders in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Eugène Simon in 1893. The genus contains 31 species distributed across North America, the Caribbean, and parts of the Mediterranean. Despite their common name as "ground spiders," many species are frequently found on vegetation and in arboreal habitats. Cesonia bilineata, the type species, has been documented engaging in predation on spiderlings of other spider species.
Cesonia classica
ground spider
Cesonia classica is a ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Chamberlin in 1924. The species occurs in the southern United States and Mexico. Like other members of the genus Cesonia, it belongs to a group of active hunting spiders that do not build webs to capture prey. The genus Cesonia includes species that have been documented exhibiting predatory behavior toward other spiders, including raiding nursery webs to feed on spiderlings.
Cesonia gertschi
Cesonia gertschi is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, described by Platnick & Shadab in 1980. It is distributed across the United States and Mexico. Like other members of its genus, it is a small, agile hunter. Specific details about its biology and ecology remain poorly documented.
Cesonia rothi
ground spider
Cesonia rothi is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, described by Platnick & Shadab in 1980. It is known from the United States. As a member of the Cesonia genus, it is presumed to share traits with congeners such as Cesonia bilineata, including small body size, arboreal habits despite the "ground spider" common name, and potential predation on other spiders including spiderlings.
Cesonia trivittata
Cesonia trivittata is a ground spider species in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Banks in 1898. It is found in the United States and Mexico. As a member of the genus Cesonia, it is part of a group of spiders commonly known as ground spiders, though many species in this genus are frequently observed in vegetation rather than strictly on the ground surface.
Cesonia ubicki
Cesonia ubicki is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, described by Platnick and Shadab in 1980. The species is distributed across the southwestern United States and Mexico. Like other members of the genus Cesonia, it is a small, agile predator. Specific details about its ecology and behavior remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.
Cithaeronidae
Curly-legged Ground Spiders
Cithaeronidae is a small family of araneomorph spiders in the superfamily Gnaphosoidea, established by Simon in 1893. The family contains two genera—Cithaeron and Inthaeron—with approximately ten described species. Members are small, pale yellowish, fast-moving nocturnal hunters that construct silken retreats under rocks. Several species, notably Cithaeron praedonius, have been introduced to the Americas and Australia through human activity.
Creugas bajulus
Creugas bajulus is a species of true spider in the family Corinnidae, first described by Gertsch in 1942. It is known from Mexico and has been reported in California, USA. The genus Creugas belongs to a group of ground-dwelling spiders commonly known as ant-mimics or ant-like spiders, though species-specific behavioral details for C. bajulus remain poorly documented.
Drassinella modesta
Drassinella modesta is a small spider species in the family Liocranidae, first described by Nathan Banks in 1904. It belongs to a genus of ground-dwelling spiders found in North America. The species is poorly known, with minimal published biological or ecological information available.
Drassodes
Stone Spiders
Drassodes is a genus of ground spiders in the family Gnaphosidae, commonly known as stone spiders. They are medium-sized spiders typically found in dry habitats beneath rocks or bark. The genus contains approximately 162 species and is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere.
Drassodes angulus
Drassodes angulus is a ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, described by Platnick and Shadab in 1976. It is known from a small number of observations in the United States. As a member of the genus Drassodes, it is presumed to be a nocturnal, ground-dwelling hunter.
Drassodes auriculoides
Drassodes auriculoides is a ground spider species in the family Gnaphosidae, described by Barrows in 1919. It is known from the United States and belongs to a genus of nocturnal, ground-dwelling hunters that do not build webs to capture prey. The species epithet 'auriculoides' refers to ear-like structures, likely describing a morphological feature of the copulatory organs. As with many Drassodes species, detailed natural history information remains limited.
Drassodes neglectus
Neglected Ground Hunter Spider
Drassodes neglectus is a ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, characterized by its ground-dwelling hunting behavior. The species occurs across a broad geographic range spanning Russia (Far East, Middle to East Siberia), Kazakhstan, and North America. It belongs to a genus of active hunters that do not construct webs for prey capture. Available records indicate it has been documented in 35 iNaturalist observations.
Drassyllus covensis
Drassyllus covensis is a ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Exline in 1962. It belongs to a genus of small to medium-sized nocturnal spiders commonly found in leaf litter and soil habitats. The species is known from the United States, though specific details about its biology remain poorly documented.
Drassyllus fallens
Drassyllus fallens is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Chamberlin in 1922. It belongs to a large genus of small to medium-sized spiders commonly found in terrestrial habitats. The species has been documented in North America, specifically in the United States and Canada. As with other members of Gnaphosidae, it is presumed to be an active nocturnal hunter.
Drassyllus insularis
Drassyllus insularis is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae. It was first described by Nathan Banks in 1900 as Callilepis insularis and later transferred to the genus Drassyllus. The species is found in North America, with records from Canada, the United States, and Mexico. As a member of the Gnaphosidae family, it belongs to a diverse group of nocturnal hunting spiders commonly known as ground spiders.
Drassyllus mormon
Drassyllus mormon is a ground spider species in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Chamberlin in 1936. It occurs in western North America, with records from the United States and Mexico. As a member of the genus Drassyllus, it is part of a diverse group of small to medium-sized ground-dwelling spiders commonly known as ground spiders or gnaphosids.
Drassyllus niger
Drassyllus niger is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae. The species was first described by Nathan Banks in 1896. It occurs in the United States and Canada. As a member of Gnaphosidae, it is a nocturnal hunting spider that does not build webs to capture prey.
Drassyllus novus
Drassyllus novus is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae. First described by Nathan Banks in 1895, this species occurs in the United States and Canada. As a member of the Gnaphosidae family, it belongs to a group commonly known as ground spiders, which are typically nocturnal hunters that do not build webs to capture prey.
Drassyllus proclesis
Drassyllus proclesis is a ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, described by Chamberlin in 1922. It belongs to a genus of small to medium-sized nocturnal spiders commonly found in leaf litter and soil habitats. The species is documented from the United States, though specific details about its biology remain limited.
Drassyllus prosaphes
Drassyllus prosaphes is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Chamberlin in 1936. It belongs to a genus of small to medium-sized nocturnal hunting spiders commonly found in leaf litter and soil habitats. The species occurs in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Like other members of Gnaphosidae, it lacks a permanent web and actively pursues prey.
Eilica bicolor
Eilica bicolor is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Nathan Banks in 1896. The species has a broad geographic range spanning from the United States through Central America to the Caribbean. Like other gnaphosids, it is a nocturnal hunting spider that does not build webs to capture prey. The specific epithet "bicolor" likely refers to a two-toned color pattern, though detailed morphological descriptions are sparse in the literature.
Falconina gracilis
Falconina gracilis is a species of true spider in the family Corinnidae, a group commonly known as ground spiders or ant-mimicking spiders. It is native to South America, with established populations in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. The species has been introduced to the United States and Cuba, where it occurs as a non-native species. Records from GBIF also indicate presence in Peru, Bolivia, and Uruguay.
Gertschosa
Gertschosa is a genus of ground spiders in the family Gnaphosidae, established by Norman I. Platnick and M. U. Shadab in 1981. The genus contains four species distributed across the Caribbean, Central America, and southern North America. Its members are nocturnal hunting spiders that do not construct webs for prey capture.
Gnaphosa borea
Gnaphosa borea is a ground spider species in the family Gnaphosidae with a Holarctic distribution. The species is found in boreal forest habitats across northern Eurasia and North America. It has been documented in Russia (Tuva, South Siberia), Alaska, Maine, and several Canadian provinces including Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Yukon. The species appears to be associated with post-fire conditions in boreal forests and is rarely collected in harvest-origin forest stands.
Gnaphosa fontinalis
Gnaphosa fontinalis is a ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Keyserling in 1887. It is one of numerous Gnaphosa species found in North America. The species epithet 'fontinalis' suggests an association with springs or fountains, though this ecological connection has not been explicitly documented in available sources.
Gnaphosa muscorum
Moss Ground Hunter
Gnaphosa muscorum is a ground spider species in the family Gnaphosidae, characterized by its Holarctic distribution spanning North America, Europe, and northern Asia. The species was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1866. A recognized subspecies, G. muscorum gaunitzi, occurs in Sweden and Russia. As a member of the ground spider family, it is presumed to be an active hunter rather than a web-builder, though specific behavioral details remain poorly documented.
Gnaphosa orites
Gnaphosa orites is a ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae with the broadest latitudinal distribution of any species in its genus, ranging from 43° to 70°N across the Holarctic region. The species was first described by Chamberlin in 1922 and has since been recorded from northern Europe, Scandinavia, the Caucasus, and across Russia from Europe to the Far East, as well as North America. A 2011 study documented its southernmost record in the Russian Far East, extending the known range of this cold-adapted species.
Gnaphosa parvula
Gnaphosa parvula is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae. It is found in the United States and Canada, with records from Alberta and British Columbia in Canada. The species was described by Banks in 1896.
Gnaphosa sericata
Gnaphosa sericata is a ground spider species in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by L. Koch in 1866. The species occurs across a broad geographic range spanning North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Records indicate presence from the United States through Mexico, Guatemala, and Cuba, with additional documentation from Canada, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. As a member of Gnaphosidae, it belongs to a family characterized by active hunting behavior and the production of silk retreats rather than prey-capture webs.
Haplodrassus bicornis
Haplodrassus bicornis is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Emerton in 1909. This species is found in North America, specifically in the United States and Canada. Like other members of the genus Haplodrassus, it is a ground-dwelling spider that hunts without building webs. The specific epithet 'bicornis' refers to a pair of horn-like structures, likely describing a diagnostic morphological feature.
Haplodrassus signifer
Ensign Ground Hunter
Haplodrassus signifer is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae. It has a broad distribution spanning North America, Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Israel, the Caucasus, Russia, Central Asia, China, Korea, and Japan. The species is part of a large genus of active hunting spiders that do not build webs to capture prey.
Haplodrassus stuxbergi
Haplodrassus stuxbergi is a ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, described by L. Koch in 1879. The species has a transcontinental distribution spanning northern Eurasia and North America. Like other members of its genus, it is a ground-dwelling hunter. Published ecological and behavioral details remain limited.
Haplodrassus taibo
Haplodrassus taibo is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Chamberlin in 1919. As a member of this family, it is likely a nocturnal hunter that does not build webs to capture prey. The species is known from the United States, though detailed ecological and behavioral information remains limited.
Herpyllus
Parson spider
Herpyllus is a genus of ground spiders in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Nicholas Marcellus Hentz in 1832. The genus contains 33 species distributed across North America, Central America, and parts of Asia. Members are commonly known as 'parson spiders' due to their distinctive black-and-white coloration resembling clerical vestments. The most well-known species, Herpyllus ecclesiasticus (Eastern Parson Spider), is widespread in eastern North America and frequently enters human dwellings.
Herpyllus cockerelli
Herpyllus cockerelli is a ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, distributed across the United States and Mexico. Like other Herpyllus species, it is nocturnal and frequently associated with human structures. The species was described by Nathan Banks in 1901.
Heser
Heser is a genus of ground spiders (Gnaphosidae) in the Zelotes group, established in 2004. The genus comprises 11 species of small to medium-sized spiders distributed across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Several species have been introduced to the United States and Mexico. The type species is Heser malefactor from Kazakhstan.
Hogna lenta
Field Wolf Spider
Hogna lenta is a species of wolf spider in the family Lycosidae, commonly known as the Field Wolf Spider. It is native to the southeastern United States, with particular abundance in Florida. This large, ground-dwelling spider constructs vertical burrows in sandy substrates and hunts using vibration detection. The species has been used in neuroanatomical research to study catecholaminergic neuron distribution in spider central nervous systems.
Litopyllus
Litopyllus is a genus of ground spiders in the family Gnaphosidae, established by R. V. Chamberlin in 1922. The genus contains three described species: L. cubanus, L. realisticus, and L. temporarius. Members are classified as wandering hunters rather than web-builders.
Litopyllus cubanus
Litopyllus cubanus is a species of ground spider in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by Bryant in 1940. It occurs across parts of the Caribbean and southeastern United States. As a member of Gnaphosidae, it belongs to a diverse family of nocturnal hunting spiders commonly known as ground spiders.
Litopyllus temporarius
Litopyllus temporarius is a ground spider species in the family Gnaphosidae, described by Chamberlin in 1922. It belongs to the infraorder Araneomorphae, the group containing most modern spider species. The species is known only from the United States, though specific habitat details and ecological information remain undocumented.
Lycosidae
Wolf Spiders
Wolf spiders (family Lycosidae) are robust, agile hunters characterized by excellent eyesight and solitary behavior. The family is distinguished by a unique eye arrangement featuring two large, forward-facing posterior median eyes that produce distinctive reflective eyeshine. Most species are ground-dwelling and do not construct webs for prey capture, instead actively hunting or ambushing prey. Females carry egg sacs attached to their spinnerets and subsequently transport spiderlings on their backs. The family exhibits considerable ecological diversity, with species occupying habitats ranging from sandy beaches to forest floors and agricultural fields.
Marinarozelotes barbatus
A ground-dwelling spider species in the family Gnaphosidae, first described by L. Koch in 1866. The first cytogenetic analysis of this species was conducted on specimens from Turkey, revealing a diploid chromosome number of 2n♂=22 with an X1X20 sex chromosome system. All chromosomes are telocentric, with X1 being the largest and X2 the smallest chromosome in the karyotype. Sex chromosomes exhibit positive heteropycnosis during prophase I of meiosis. The species has a broad native distribution across the Mediterranean to Caucasus region and has been introduced to the USA.