| OCR Text |
Show 438 REV. O. P. CAMBRIDGE ON NEW ARANEIDEA. [May 16, Maxillae rather long, strong, enlarged and rounded at their extremities. Labium broad, and considerably bent in, transversely, above its connexion with the sternum ; it is about half the length of the maxillae, and somewhat pointed at the apex. The sternum is heart-shaped, hollowed at the anterior extremity, and with slight eminences opposite to the insertions of the legs. Abdomen short and broad, but with its anterior portion greatly elevated and produced into a long, slightly tapering, curved projection, which bends forwards over the cephalothorax. It is probable that this genus is allied to Mastigosoma, Auss., and Cyphagogus, Giinther, as well as to Poltys, C. L. Koch. "WIXIA ABDOMINALIS, sp. n. (Plate XXXI. fig. 13.) Adult female, length 3\ lines, length of abdomen (from the hinder extremity to the end of the anterior projection) rather over 4 | lines. The cephalothorax and falces are yellow-brown; the clypeus, as well as a short, broad, oblique band towards the base of the falces, brown ; the extremities of the falces deep brown; the surface of the cephalothorax is covered pretty thickly with short greyish hairs. The eyes of the central group do not differ much in size. Those of the posterior pair are of a pale yellowish pearly colour, and seemed to be rather smaller than the anterior pair, which form, however, a shorter-line, being dark-coloured and separated by no more than an eye's diameter. The legs are dull brownish yellow, of a somewhat flattened shape, though not so much flattened as in Poltys or Ccerostris; besides the spines mentioned above, they are clothed with numerous greyish and other hairs. The tarsi are short. The palpi are moderate in length and strength, and similar in colour and armature to the legs ; each ends with a curved claw furnished with longish pectinations. The maxillce and labium are dark brown tipped with whitish; and the sternum is similar in colour to the legs. The abdomen is of a dull luteous kind of yellow-brown, clouded or suffused with a sooty-brown hue in front of the anterior elevation, of which the apex is bifid, each point ending with a round shining tubercle; on the hinder half of the abdomen are four largish impressed pit-like black spots, followed towards the spinners by two longitudinal converging rows of small diminishing deep-brown spots which look like tubercles; others, of a like nature, are disposed more or less regularly in two rows round the margins. The underside is dark sooty brown ; and the genital aperture is large, with a deep red-brown shining tubercular somewhat oval prominence on each side of it. The whole abdomen is clothed with short greyish and other hairs; between the four large impressed spots on the hinder part are some blackish irregular markings. A single example of this curious Spider was contained in Mr. Traill's Amazon collection, and appears to m e to belong to an un-characterized genus. |
