(*)The Lupus clouds is the generic denomination of a loosely connected concentr ation of dark clouds and low-mass pre-main sequence stars lying in th e direction of that constel- lation, between Galactic longitudes 334 ◦ < l < 352 ◦ and latitudes +5 ◦ < b < +25 ◦ . In terms of angular extent it is one of the largest low-mass st ar forming complexes on the sky, and it also contains one of the richest associations of T Tauri stars. Its dis- tance places it among the nearest star forming regions, toge ther with those in Corona Australis, Ophiuchus, Taurus-Auriga, and Chamaeleon, all of which are described else- where in this volume. In size and contents the Lupus clouds ar e comparable to those other complexes.