Description

Arthrolycosa, which translates to "jointed wolf spider" is an ancient arachnid genus, potentially a type of spider, that thrived around 300-250 million years ago.

Fossils of Arthrolycosa have been unearthed in several locations, including Mazon Creek, USA, Piesberg in Germany, and in the Kirov Oblast region, as well as the Kamensk-Shakhtinsky area of Russia. This genus represents one of the earliest spiders known to us.

Similar to its namesake, the Lycosa genus, Arthrolycosa was likely a ground predator. In these early times, web-spinning hadn't yet evolved. Therefore, Arthrolycosa would have likely hidden near shelter and waited for potential prey to pass by. When it got close enough, it would have pursued its prey and immobilized it with its fangs before injecting venom.