Lycosidae Lysania

Lysania pygmaea Thorell, 1890

Dwarf Wolf Spider

This is one of the three species of web-building lycosids in Singapore, the others being Hippasa holmerae and Venonia coruscans. L. pygmaea is readily distinguished from them by the presence of a full-length dorsal scutum over the male abdomen. In the field, they can be easily recognised by the uniformly and almost glossy dark brown or black carapace, edged on each side with a narrow strip of bright white setae. In addition, the male carapace is covered with a patch of white setae in front. There are clear differences between the male and female abdomen, as shown in the pictures. The legs are long, particularly among the males, with rings of white setae at most joints. In the males, white setae cover the entire length of metatarsi I and IV.