OCR Text |
Show 1870.] REV. O. P. CAMBRIDGE ON NEW ARANEIDEA. 737 Palpi moderate in length, similar in colour to the legs, and terminating with a rather conspicuous, curved, but simple black claw. Falces neither very long nor strong; they present no peculiar features, and, together with the maxillae, labium, and sternum, are rather lighter-coloured than the cephalothorax, the falces being also marked near their base on the inner sides with black. The abdomen is of a very peculiar form, somewhat quadrate, or rather subtriangular, the hinder part being much wider than the fore part (which forms the apex of the triangle and is truncate) ; the hinder part has a sort of cylindrical median prolongation; the abdomen is of a dull brown above, marked with darker, and with whitish cretaceous spots disposed chiefly in two irregular longitudinal lines; the sides and hinder part are black, and the underside is of a pale dull brown ; the cylindrical prolongation is also of a pale dull brown, with a fine median longitudinal black line, giving off several oblique lateral whitish lines; the spinners terminate this prolongation, and appear to have nothing remarkable in either their size or structure ; in the transverse line of the widest part of the abdomen, and in the median longitudinal line of the upperside, is a single, curious, prominent, sharp, but short, beak-like spine directed backwards. An adult female of this Spider was received in 1869 from Mr. Nietner, from Ceylon, and another in the same year (also from Ceylon) from Mr. Thwaites ; it is an interesting species, and appears to furnish a link between the Scytodides and Theridides. The genus Moneta might thus either come at the head of the Theridides proper, followed by the genus Pholcus, or terminate the subfamily Scytodina ; the former, however, seems to be its more proper place. Dr. Thorell includes the genus Pholcus with Scytodes in a subfamily of Theridides ; but Pholcus appears to me to be too decidedly belonging to the family Theridides, as formerly constituted, to be placed in the same restricted group as Scytodes. Fam. EPEIRIDES. Nov. gen. CHORIZOOPES (yupi'Cu), to divide; u>\p, J-res, the eyes). Characters of the Genus.-Cephalothorax short, nearly square, with the corners rounded off; the caput occupies almost the whole of the cephalothoracic area, and is very broad and much elevated, the occiput being the highest and most prominent part. The abdomen is short, broad, and nearly as high as long; it is bluff and a little larger behind (where it has some small subconical eminences) than before. Eyes eight; four in a small quadrangular figure in front of the caput, and a pair on each side, far removed from the central four, and close upon the lateral margin of the caput. Legs short, moderately strong; relative length 4, 1, 2, 3, but very little difference between them; tarsal claws three in number, small, and toothed at their base; opposed to them are some supernumerary pectinated ones. |