Pardosa is a large genus of wolf spiders, commonly known as the thin-legged wolf spiders. It was first described by C. L. Koch, in 1847, with more than 500 described species that are found in most regions of the world.
Pardosa are found worldwide except Australia.
These spiders are generally found in dry open woods as well as on wet ground near ponds and streams.
The egg-sac is lenticular, usually greenish when fresh and changing to dirty grey when older. Studies of P. crassipalpis found it to be a univoltine species with males passing through seven instars before reaching maturity and females through eight. During the reproductive phase, females produce an average of three egg sacs with an average of 23.3 eggs per sac.
Pardosa species are small to medium size wolf spiders, with a total length of 3-4 mm in males and 4-5 mm in females.
The cephalic region is elevated with clear median and lateral bands on the carapace. The clypeus is vertical and the chelicerae are much smaller than in most other lycosids, with their height less than the height of the head. The cephalic region is almost entirely occupied by the posterior two rows of eyes. The anterior row of eyes is shorter than the second row. The labium is usually wider than long with basal articular notches.
The legs are relatively long and thin and provided with long spines. Metatarsus IV is at least as long as the patella plus tibia together. Tibia I is provided with three pairs of ventral spines. In males of some species, the palp has dense dark setae.
As of October 2025, this genus includes 503 species and fourteen subspecies.
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