Tasmanicosa

Fauna Portal Genus Number: 1783

(after Framenau & Baehr 2016): The most conspicuous character of Tasmanicosa is the Union-Jack pattern of the carapace that consists of dark and light radiating lines, including an undulating line under the lateral eyes to the front of the carapace. Median and marginal light bands are present, but often poorly developed. Dingosa is the only Australian wolf spider genus in which spiders also have a Union-Jack pattern on the carapace, but males of this genus differ from those of Tasmanicosa by the heavily enlarged palea and elongated tegular apophysis of the male pedipalp. Amongst other morphological characters, Dingosa also differs by the behaviour of constructing turrets around the entrance to the burrow, not observed in Tasmanicosa.