Wild West Virginia

In the summer of 2016, I encountered one of the largest spiders I've ever personally come across (aside from wild tarantulas in Arizona, anyway). I was part of a group of wildlife students sampling aquatic populations in a small water reservoir in North Central West Virginia. As we hauled our seine net up the bank through the tall grass, we flushed out all kinds of small creatures including frogs, salamanders, many different kinds of insects, and a very large spider. Judging by the body shape, size, and eye arrangement of the spider, my best guess is that it belongs to the Lycosidae family, known collectively as wolf spiders. These spiders hunt on foot, without the use of a web, and have very keen eyesight. Although I'm sure if you provoked one long enough it could bite you, they pose no significant threat to humans and will do their best to get away from you if you encounter one. As you can see in the photo, this spider in particular had very good camouflage, and most other Lycosidae species are likewise cryptically colored to suit their preferred environments.