OCR Text |
Show 400 REV. O. P. CAMBRIDGE ON NEW DRASSIDES. [June 2, respects of normal form ; it (as well as all the rest of the fore part of this Spider) is of a rather bright yellow-brown colour, clothed, but not at all densely, with greyish-yellow pubescence, and some prominent black bristly hairs in the ocular region; the normal grooves and indentations are not strong, but are well indicated by being of a rather deeper hue than the rest. The eyes are in the ordinary position, two transverse curved rows; the front row is the most curved, the hinder one being very nearly straight; the lateral eye of each row is nearer to the opposite lateral eye of the other row than the central eyes of the one are to those of the other; the eyes of the hinder row are equidistant from each other and of about equal size; those of the front row are large, all larger than those of the hinder one, and the fore central pair much the largest of the eight; each of these latter is very nearly contiguous to the lateral of the same row on its side, and they are separated from each other by nearly about half of an eye's diameter. The legs are strong, especially the femoral joints, and moderately long, their relative length being 4, 1, 2, 3 ; they are furnished with hairs, spines, and bristles; and each tarsus ends with two curved claws, beneath which is a claw-tuft or scopula. The palpi are pretty strong, but not very long. The radial and cubital joints are short; the former is rather the shortest but strongest, and has its outer extremity produced into a long and strong apophysis ; this is a little tapering at first, but has its extremity divided into two very peculiar and distinct limbs ; one of these (the upper one) is strongly bent inwards and sharp-pointed, the other obtuse and straighten The digital joint is large, of the ordinary oval form, and of a darker hue than the rest of the joint. The palpal organs are well developed but simple, having some longitudinal, parallel, dark, sinuous markings on the surface of the principal corneous lobe, and a small curved corneous process at their fore extremity ; the humeral joint has three curved, black, spine-like bristles near its fore extremity on the upperside; two are near the margin, and the third a little way behind. The falces are vertical and not very long nor strong ; the maxilla, labium, and sternum are of normal form. The abdomen is oval, rather truncate before, and projecting over the base of the cephalothorax; it is of a uniform pale brownish-yellow hue, clothed sparingly with fine yellowish-grey hairs ; and on the fore part of the upperside is a large bright yellow-brown patch of a shining semicorneous nature, similar in colour to the cephalothorax and other fore parts; this patch is of a curvilinear, tapering form ; and along its centre is indistinctly visible an elongate tapering, and rather darker marking, the sharp point of which extends beyond its hinder and pointed extremity : also on the fore part of the upperside of the abdomen are four impressed spots or dark punctures in an oblong quadrangular figure; the foremost pair of these spots are rather obscured by the shining patch above described. The spinners are yellow-brown, rather long and strong, those of the inferior |