Spider ID please

[Yorkie lad]

Hi All

can anybody help ID of below spider seen at Monkwood Worcestershire today



sorry about the poor quality of pictures

yorkie lad

[wild sam]

wolf spider i think

[dmclean2]

I agree with Lycosidae, and possibly Pardosa spp
though not a clear pic to go on, P. Agricola ?? maybe
Duncan

[Geoff F]

That is a rather spotty specimen but unfortunately they are so variable in colour that it is always a bit of guesswork, although size and location can narrow things down a little.

As I understand things (which may well be totally wrong) P. agricola is a coastal species mostly found on shingle and sand dunes etc but can also occur on river banks.

Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata looks possible but is a rather rare and localised species.

The same applies to Arctosa leopardus, which is possibly a bit too dark.

So putting together appearance, time of the year and location I would opt for Pardosa amentata or P. hortensis. And as my book states that P. hortensis females often occur in a greyish brown form, I am going for that one.

But in reality, this is only playing a game and we are unlikely to get a positive ID from that photo.