OCR Text |
Show 448 REV. O. P. CAMBRIDGE ON SIBERIAN SPIDERS. [May 6, eyes ; the hinder part of the base of the eminence is nearer to the hind central than to the fore central pair of eyes, in fact contiguous to them ; it is of a rich reddish yellow-brown colour, the margins, normal indentations, and a patch behind the eyes being marked with a dusky but darker hue : the eminence is higher than it is broad at its base ; its apex is hollow or with a very shallow longitudinal notch, and its apical margins are slightly folded over outwards. The eyes are nearly of uniform size ; they are in four pairs surrounding the eminence ; those of the hinder pair are less than an eye's diameter separated from each other and are close to the base of the eminence ; those of the foremost pair are nearly, but not quite, contiguous to each other, and seated a very little way in front of its base; those of each lateral pair are contiguous to each other and placed very slightly obliquely; the foremost of each of these lateral pairs is very close to but distinctly separate from the fore central eye nearest to it. The legs are moderate in length and strength; they are orange reddish yellow, furnished with hairs and a few prominent slender bristles; their relative length appeared to be 4, 1, 2, 3. The palpi are not very long, and except the digital joint (including the palpal organs) slender and similar in colour to the legs. The radial joint is stronger than the cubital, and has its fore extremity produced into two apophyses : one from its upperside continues the joint in a long, sinuous, and gradually tapering form, extending to about two thirds of the length of the digital joint; the point of this apophysis is neither dilated, nor cleft, nor acute, but simply obtusely pointed: the other apophysis is on the inner side of the joint and curves round beneath the apophysis already described ; it is, however, not quite so long, and has its extremity (which protrudes outwards from under the other) bifid or divided into two limbs, the inferior one of which is longer than the other. The digital joint is large and of a somewhat irregular oval form. The palpal organs are highly developed, prominent, and complex; their main feature consists of a strongish black tapering spine, coiled in a large circle rather beneath on their outer side; in contact with this spine is a considerable quantity of semitransparent whitish membrane. The radial joint, as well as its apophyses, and the digital joint are furnished with longish hairs. The falces, maxillae, labium, and sternum present nothing remarkable in form or structure ; they are of the same colour as the cephalothorax. The abdomen is rather elongate-oval in form, not very convex above, and projects a little way over the base of the cephalothorax ; its colour is black, clothed, but not very thickly, with short fine hairs, and (in spirit of .wine) showing various minute pale spots and line lines. The female resembles the male in general form and characters as well as in colour, but has no eminence between the eyes ; the form of the epigyne and sexual aperture is peculiar (see fig. 12 e, Plate XLI.). |