Wolf Spider (Hogna frondicola)

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Hogna are a genus of Wolf Spiders with more than 200 described species. They are found on all continents except Antarctica. Two species of Hogna, Hogna carolinensis and Hogna helluo, are among the largest spiders in the US. Too bad, but this wasn't one of them.

I found this guy on my garage. It was a little larger than the normal Pardosa sp. I run into, around an inch in diameter.

You can tell this is a Hogna species because of the eye pattern. Wolf spiders are most readily identified by their eye patterns. If you look really closely in a bigger size you can see a small horizontal row of four eyes, then a set of two larger eyes above that row, then another set of two on top of the carapace. Thats the hallmark of a Hogna sp. spider.

Raynox DCR-150 and Raynox DCR-250 stacked and mounted on my Panasonic Lumix FZ8.