Ivan Botvinkin · Sagarejo Georgia field photo
Risk to humans
HarmlessNo medical venom risk
No medically significant venom. Do not pick it up anyway — watch it and leave it where it is.
Key facts in one look
- Size
- Female 18–31 mm
- Status in Georgia
- Confirmed
- Confirmed regions
- Kvemo Kartli, Kakheti
- Family
- Lycosidae
- Behavior
- Soil burrow / active hunting
- Risk to people
- Do not handle
The South Russian tarantula or Songarian wolf spider (Lycosa singoriensis) is a wolf spider in the family Lycosidae. The species is confirmed in Georgia. Published records are known from Kvemo Kartli and Kakheti, although this does not mean it is evenly distributed across every region of the country. At species level, female body length is about 18–31 mm and male body length is 14–27 mm. Legs are not included in that size. The name “tarantula” is often used more broadly in Georgian; Lycosa singoriensis does not belong to the tropical Theraphosidae.
Identification
South Russian tarantula: how to identify it
A large, darkly patterned wolf spider with strong legs. It does not sit in a capture orb web and is often found on the ground or near a burrow entrance.
At species level, female body length is about 18–31 mm and male body length is 14–27 mm. Legs are not included in that size.
The body is hairy, the legs often have a ringed pattern, and the abdomen is dark and spotted. Wolf spiders also have a characteristic eye arrangement: the middle pair is relatively large and visible from the front.
The tarantula does not spin a capture orb web. If a large spider with bold yellow-and-black colouring is sitting at the center of an orb web, you are more likely seeing Argiope, not Lycosa singoriensis.
Often confused with
The tarantula is associated with dry, open habitats: steppe and semi-steppe grassland, dry plains, and soil where it can dig a burrow. In Georgia, it is confirmed in Kvemo Kartli and Kakheti. These records do not mean the species is distributed throughout the whole country.
The tarantula is an active predator and does not use an orb web to catch prey. It mainly hunts insects and other small invertebrates on the ground or near the burrow entrance.
Large Lycosa species often live in silk-lined soil burrows and hunt from the entrance. The female carries the egg sac on the rear of the body, and newly hatched spiderlings stay on the mother’s back for a while, a behavior typical of wolf spiders.
Yes. Lycosa singoriensis is a confirmed species in Georgia. Published records are known from Kvemo Kartli and Kakheti.
No. This tarantula, Lycosa singoriensis, is a large wolf spider. It does not belong to the tropical Theraphosidae spiders that are also often called tarantulas in English.
At species level, female body length is about 18–31 mm and male body length is 14–27 mm. Legs are not included in that size.
A bite is usually not life-threatening, but it can cause local pain, redness, or swelling. Do not pick it up. If symptoms are strong or keep increasing, swelling is significant, or breathing becomes difficult, call 112.
The tarantula is mainly found in dry, open places where it can dig a burrow. In Georgia, it is confirmed in Kvemo Kartli and Kakheti.
Argiope sits in a large orb web and often has bold yellow-and-black colouring. Lycosa singoriensis is a ground-living wolf spider and does not build a capture orb web.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
