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Show 254 MR. F. PICKARD CAMBRIDGE ON THE [Apr. 15, 5. LATRODECTUS CURACAVIENSIS (Muller), 1776. (Plate XXVII. fig. 4.) (Sub-species.) Synonym. L. geographicus, Van Hasselt. The two females, referred by M. Simon to the former name, from Asuncion, and kindly lent me for examination, tire adult, and represent a type of coloration often found in the immature of L. mactans. This form has the abdomen mainly red, with a pair of parallel black longitudinal bands posteriorly, and two or more transverse black cinctures anteriorly. The type of coloration is the same as that of some males and females which I took on the sandy campos near Santarem, on the Lower Amazons; and the latter are unmistakably like Van Hasselt's figure of L. geographicus, though the precise form of the coloration differs. But, in this case again, though the Spiders are very much smaller, I am unable to find any really reliable difference in the papal organs or in the vulva from those of L. mactans. Differences may indeed exist, and possibly with several dozen examples to compare, instead of two or three, one might find them. At present, however, I can only regard this form as a dwarf race with different form of coloration, and for the time being must consider it as a sub-species. Hab. CURACOA, West Indies (Muller); PARAGUAY : Asuncion, San Pedro and Rio Apa (Simon); SURINAM (Van Hasselt); AMAZONS (F. Cambridge). 6. LATRODECTUS TREDECIM-GUTTATUS (Rossi), 1790. (Plate XXVI. fig. 3.) (Sub-species.) Synonyms. L. malmignatus Walck.-L. martius Aud. in Sav. -L. argus And. in Sav.-L. venator Aud. in Sav.-L. erebus Walck.-L. lugubre (Dufour, sub Theridion).-L. oculatus Walck.-L. conglobatus C. L. Koch.-L. lugubris Motsch.-Z. hispida (C. L. Koch), sub Meta. This is perhaps the best known form, being common all through the South of Europe, the Mediterranean region, Northern Africa, and through South Russia and Syria. It is notorious in all parts of this region for its venomous bite. The only real distinction I can find between the " forma principalis" of 13-guttatus and mactans is that in the female the lateral anterior eyes are further from the centrals than these are from each other, and the hairy clothing is much finer. In the males, however, there is no difference in this respect. This character (the eye-formula), moreover, is not constant in the females of either mactans, tredecim-guttatus, or hasseltii. I can find no tangible difference between the various parts of the palpal organs in the male, or of the vulva in the female, of these forms (hasseltii 3 is unknown to me). I believe these to be all offshoots of one original form, for which the oldest name is mactans. Hab. E U R O P E : Spain, Italy (Walck.) ; Greece (C. L. Koch);- |
