| OCR Text |
Show 574 REV. O. P. CAMBRIDGE ON EGYPTIAN SPIDERS. [June 20, tively enormous and perfectly globular semidiaphanous dull orange-yellow bulb, with a small twisted process at its anterior extremity. The falces are long, strong, divergent, and excavated towards their fore extremities on the inner sides, where they are also armed with two sharp strongish teeth ; their colour is similar to that of the cephalothorax. The maxilla, labium, and sternum are of normal character, and of a dark yellow-brown colour. The abdomen is of a short oval form, considerably convex above, but not nearly globular, and projects well over the base of the cephalothorax ; it is of a dark yellowish brown colour mixed with blackish patches and markings above, and sprinkled thickly, both above and on the sides, with resplendent silvery markings and spots. These are generally gathered into a large, but not very long, longitudinal band or patch on each side of the fore half, the rest being more or less irregularly scattered, though in some examples they may be traced somewhat more regularly in transverse lines. The female is rather larger than the male, and her abdomen is much more nearly globular in form ; but in respect of colours and markings, the sexes are, as nearly as possible, similar to each other. Two adults of each sex were found on rushes and other plants in a marsh near Alexandria. Although much smaller than any yet known species of this genus, it surpasses all of them in beauty ; the silvery spangled abdomen and enormous palpal bulb will serve to distinguish it at a glance. Fam. EPEIRIDES. Gen. T E T R A G N A T H A , Latr. TETRAGNATHA MOLESTA. Tetragnatha molesta, Cambr. Spid. Palest. & Svr., P.Z.S. 1872, p. 295. Three adult males of this Spider were found among rushes in a marsh near Alexandria. TETRAGNATHA NITENS. Eugnatha nitens, Sav. et Aud. Egypte, p. 118, pl. ii. fig. 2. An adult female, of what I believe to be this species, was found on rushes in a marsh near Alexandria. The fangs of the falces are very remarkable, being strongly and rather abruptly bent not far from the middle, with a strong conical protuberance, or tooth, on the hinder side between the bend and the articulation with the falx. TETRAGNATHA FLAVA. Uloborus flavus, Sav. et Aud. Egypte, p. 117, pl. ii. fig. 1. An immature example of this Spider was found in the same situation near Alexandria && the last two species. The position of tbe eyes misled Audouin as to its generic affinity, which is undoubtedly with Tetragnatha. |
