| OCR Text |
Show 1876.] REV. O. P. CAMBRIDGE ON EGYPTIAN SPIDERS. 597 lateral on its side ; the length of the front row is equal to that by any three eyes of the hinder row ; and the four central eyes form a square whose fore side is shortest and its hinder side slightly the longest. The legs are yellow, indistinctly annulated and marked with dusky brown, and furnished with long spines as well as with hairs and bristles. The palpi are pale yellow, moderately long, and furnished with hairs, bristles, and a few spines. The falces are vertical and strong ; their colour is pale yellow, with a broad brownish band along the middle of their fore side, not reaching, however, to their extremities. The maxilla aud labium are pale yellow. The sternum, which is nearly round and pointed a little behind, is also of a pale yellow colour, but broadly margined on each side with dark blackish brown. The abdomen has on the upperside a broad longitudinal dark brown band, as wide as the whole width of the abdomen at its fore extremity, but narrowing gradually to the spinners, near which its margins are a little denticulated ; this band has the normal longitudinal macula along the middle of its fore part indistinctly defined, of a brownish-yellow colour, and pointed at its hinder extremity ; and along either side of this are two or three more or less distinct dull whitish spots ; the central tapering band is well defined on each side by a broad yellowish white marginal band; the sides are marked more or less with black-brown streaks and spots; and the underside is dull black-brown, divided by a longitudinal central yellowish bar (which tapers to a point behind), and margined by a bar on each side of a similar colour ; the spinners are short and strong, those of the inferior pair being rather stronger, but equal in length to the superiors. Four immature examples of this Spider were found on rushes in a marsh near Alexandria, and are of very great interest as forming a transition from Dolomedes to Ctenus and yet wanting such decided characters as would include them in either of those genera. The position of the eyes is very like that of Sparassus ; and this, with the strongly laterigrade legs, shows an affinity to the Thomisides; but from the Spiders of this family they are separated by the presence of three instead of two tarsal claws. The general appearance, from the colours and markings, is exceedingly like that of Dolomedesfimbriatus (C. Koch) ; but the position of the eyes distinguishes it at a glance from that well-known species. The approximation to Ctenus is seen in the approach of the fore lateral eyes to the hind lateral ones ; by which the front row is strongly curved instead of being straight or nearly straight as in Dolomedes; from this last genus the near approach together of the two rows also very plainly distinguishes it. From all these, and other considerations as well, it has appeared to me necessary to constitute a new genus for its reception. |
