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Show 1902.] SPIDEBS OF THE GENUS LATRODECTUS. 253 L. hystrix. See figures of the abdominal pattern. The central anterior eyes are always, in all the examples which have come before me, slightly larger than the laterals; and, though I am unable to find any real difference in the form of the palpal organs of the male, yet the vulva of the female is distinctly different from that of L. mactans. The egg-cocoon is also characteristic, being covered with small silky cusps, unlike that of L. mactans, which is of smooth silk. This species I found commonly in the angles of windows in the towns and villages throughout the Lower Amazons. Specimens exhibit every variety of coloration from grey to black. Hab. SOUTH AMERICA: San Pedro and Rio Apia, Paraguay, San Domingo and Curacao (Simon); Brazil (Keyserling); Rio Janeiro (Goldi); Minas Geraes (Rogers); Lower Amazons, San-tarem, etc. (F. P. Cambridge). AFRICA: Khartoum (Voission); Abyssinia, Mozambique, and Madagascar (Simon); Cape Colony, Table Mountain (Hull); Jansenville (Miss Leppan); Cape Verde Islands (F. P. Cambridge). INDIA: Kurrachee and Manora (Townsend). AUSTRALIA: Melbourne (Hogg). 3. LATRODECTUS PALLIDUS 0. P. Cambridge, 1872. (Plate XXVI. % . 1.) (Species.) Hab. Plains of Jordan (0. P. Cambridge). Persian Gulf, Bushire (Kurrachee Museum). 4. LATRODECTUS MACTANS (Fabr.), 1775. (Plate XXVII. fig. 2.) (Species.) Synonyms. Abbot's Drawings: 191, 194, 195, 395, 344 - L. formidabilis Walck.-L. variolus Walck.-L. intersector Walck.-L. formidabilis Nicolet.-L. variegatus Nicolet.- L. thoracicus Nicolet.-L. zorilla (Walck.), sub Tetragnatha. - L . dotatus C. L. Koch.-L. verecundum (Hentz).-L. line-atum (Hentz).-L. apicalis Butler.-L. carolinus Butler.- L. malmignathus, var. tropica Van Hasselt. With regard to this form, after examining numerous examples from North America and Central America and a few from Peru, I have come to the conclusion that originally it was derived from the same stock as tredecim-guttatus Rossi; and that whatever small differences there are between the two now, they are the result of long separation and different surroundings. The only differences which appear to me to be constant, lie in the relative position of the eyes of the anterior row and the hairy clothing of the abdomen. It is true that the abdominal pattern is different, the lateral spots being elongate-oval, or long narrow stripes, instead of more rounded and shorter, as in tredecim-guttatus ; but since there is every variety of coloration, from those which are entirely black, or have only the apex of the abdomen red, to those which are fully striped with red, one cannot regard colour-characters as of specific importance. |