OCR Text |
Show 734 MR. R. I. POCOCK ON ETHIOPIAN SPIDERS. [June 15, 1st leg; clypeus nearly as long as the ocular area: anterior line of eyes slightly procurved, wider than the posterior line ; posterior lateral eyes smaller than posterior median ; radiating grooves on, the carapace represented by shallow depressions, with the exception of a deep pit on each side behind the head. Mandible armed below with 4 large internal teeth and 4 external, of which 3 are much smaller than the other. Distal half of labium and front half of lower side of maxilla armed with strong spicules. Sternum broad, its width between the 1st coxae equal to about half its length; furnished with a single pair of large sigilla remote from the margin and opposite the coxae of the 3rd leg; coxae of 2nd and 3rd legs armed behind with a cluster of spinules, that on the 3rd greater than that on the 4th. Legs-1st and 2nd pairs stouter than 3rd and 4th ; 4th a little longer than the 1st; tibia of 1st armed internally with 4 spines externally with 8, of which 3 are small and short; tibia of 2nd with 3 in front and 5 behind; protarsus of 1st with 8 larger and smaller behind and 6 in front; protarsus of 2nd with 7 behind and 6 in front; tarsi unspined ; 3rd and 4th legs almost without spines, one stout one on the anterior side of the patella of the 3rd and spiniform setae on the lower side of the 4th protarsus. Claws armed with a single long tooth and one or two smaller ones behind it. Palp short, slender, extending just past the patella of the 1st leg, its tibia armed with 1 outer and 1 inner spine, tarsus with 2 outer and 2 inner spines. Measurements in millimetres. Total length 15 ; length of carapace 7, width 6 ; length of palp 6*5, of 1st leg 11-5, of 2nd 10-8, of 3rd 9, of 4th 13. Loc. The Nyika plateau 6000-7000 ft., between Lake Nyasa and Lake Tanganyika (A. Whyte). The three species of the genus known to me may be readily recognized by the following table :- a. Sternum broader in front, its width between the 1st legs equal to about half its length; cluster of spinules on base of 3rd coxa larger than that on the 1st; eyes of anterior line nearly straight, the laterals separated from the edge of the clypeus by a space which is about equal to three diameters ; posterior median eye larger than the posterior lateral b. Sternum narrower in front, its width between the 1st legs less than half its length ; cluster of spinules on base of 3rd coxa larger than that on the 4th ; distance between anterior lateral eye and edge of clypeus less than three times a diameter, the anterior row of eyes being more strongly procurved; posterior lateral eye larger than posterior median. a'. Eyes smaller and more scattered, the anterior laterals twice their diameter from the edge of the clypeus and three times their diameter from the medians, which are separated by a space equalling twice their own diameter ; six spines on the outer side of the tibia and protarsus of 2nd leg; legs more or less parti-coloured whyiei, sp. n. abrahami, Camb |