OCR Text |
Show 1877.] REV. O. P. CAMBRIDGE ON NEW ARANEIDEA. 577 this apophysis is very difficult to distinguish clearly ; the digital joint is of a narrow form, and tapers a little towards its fore extremity, its length being nearly, if not quite, equal to that of the cubital and radial joints together ; all these three joints are clothed with longish coarse white hairs. The palpal organs are simple but well developed ; they are not conspicuous, being of a similar colour to the rest of the palpus, and much obscured by the white hairs on the digital and radial joints. The falces are short, straight, vertical, and not very strong ; they are of a brownish-yellow colour with a broad rather oblique dark yellow-brown longitudinal stripe on the fore side. The maxillae are yellow-brown, paler at their extremities. The labium is also yellow-brown, palest at the apex. The sternum is heart-shaped and of a pale yellow colour. The abdomen is of a palish yellow hue ; on the fore half of the upperside a clearer yellow elongate-oblong central marking is indicated by a dark-brown dentated marginal line, and terminates posteriorly with a short transverse curved dark-brown stripe, behind which, again, are two longitudinal curved dark-brown markings inclosing a circular area covered densely with white squamose hairs which extend forwards also to the transverse stripe above described. The sides are marked with a few dark-brown spots and markings ; and on each side of the fore extremity of the oblong central marking is a large patch of white squamose hairs. In front, below the fore margin, are some coarse, bristly, black, upturned hairs. The spinners are of a blackish hue, tipped with pale yellowish ; those of the inferior pair are much the strongest, though of the same length as the superior pair ; and those of the central pair are nearly as long as the rest. There is evidently some variety in the abdominal markings of this species, since in the other example before noted tbe upperside of the abdomen is generally suffused with dark blackish brown, showing faintly the longitudinal oblong central yellowish marking on the fore part; the posterior and two anterior large patches of white squamose hairs, however, are even more conspicuous in this than in the other example. Two adult male examples were received from the Rev. S. J. Whitmee, by whom they were found in the island of Samoa, and kindly sent to me, together with a few other Spiders. LIST OF SPIDERS. Fain. G-ASTEItACANTIUDES. Cyrtarachne longipes, sp. n., river Coanza, p. 559, Pl. LVI. fig. 1. • funata, sp. n., Rockhampton, p. 56U, PL LVI. fig. 2. hobsoni, sp. n., Bombay and Ceylon, p. 562, PL LVI. fig. 3. Fam. CUYPTOTIIELIDES. Cryptothele ceylonica, sp. n., Ceylon, p. 563, Pl. LVI. fig. 4. Fam. EuiriDES. Eripus quinquegibbosus, sp. n., Minas Geraes, p. 564, Pl. LVI. fig. 5. P R O C ZOOL. Soc-1877, No. XXXVII. 37 |