OCR Text |
Show 1890.] NEW ARANEIDEA. 625 with two small teeth near the middle on its inner side. The legs are furnished with slender bristles and hairs only, many of which had probably been rubbed off, no spines being visible. Palpi slender, and similar to the legs in armature. MaxillcB long, moderately strong, and of very characteristic form, rather inclined towards the labium, enlarged near the extremities, where they are obliquely truncated from the outer side inwards, the truncation thickly clothed with hairs; the palpi arising from about halfway towards the extremity. Labium slightly more than half the length of the maxillae, sides parallel, rounded at the apex. Sternum oval, rather broadest behind. Abdomen oblong, rather flattened above, somewhat truncated before, and obtusely pointed behind. Spinners short, compact, inferior pair rather longest and strongest, and placed immediately beneath the hinder extremity of the abdomen. PLATYOIDES ABRAHAMI, sp. n. (Plate LIII. fig. 4.) Adult female, length (not including the falces) very nearly 6 lines. The colour of the cephalothorax and falces is a liver-coloured brown, the normal grooves and indentations blackish. The legs have the tarsi, metatarsi, tibiae, and genuae of a rather olive-brown, the remainder dull orange-yellow. The palpi are olive-brown, as also are the maxillce and labium, the last being darkest. The sternum is dull orange, with a narrow reddish-brown margin. The abdomen is thinly clothed with short hairs, and of an almost uniform dull black above, paler along the middle of the upperside, and with traces of transverse pale oblique lines just above the spinners, but no distinct pattern visible, though this m a y have been owing to the rather damaged condition of the type specimen ; the underside is of a uniform pale dull yellow-brown. Hab. S. Africa. Genus ROBSONIA, Cambr. ROBSONIA FORMIDABILIS, sp. n. (Plate LIII. fig. 5.) Adult male, length 4 | to nearly 7 lines, to end of falces 7 to 9^ lines ; length of female, including the falces, 9| lines. Cephalothorax, falces, labium, maxillce, and sternum rich liver-colour. Legs and palpi yellow-brown, tinged with reddish. Abdomen dull brown. The cephalothorax is slightly longer than the falces, of a broad-oval form, truncated in front; the lateral marginal constriction at the caput is slight; the caput and thorax are uniformly convex, with very slightly marked normal indentations, and the surface is clothed, but not°densely, with rather short, light brownish fine hairs. The falces are long, slightly shorter than the cephalothorax, powerful, projecting, and curved, with strong teeth on their inner sides, where they are also furnished with numerous hairs. The fang lies a' little obliquely ; it is long and strong, and slightly curved. |