| OCR Text |
Show 442 REV. O. P. CAMBRIDGE ON SIBKRIAN SPIDERS. [May 6, tions and the margins of the cephalothorax are marked by dusky converging lines. The abdomen is oval, moderately convex above, of a blackish-brown colour, thinly dotted with fine hairs, and, when in spirit of wine, seems to be covered thickly with minute yellowish-brown freckles or dots, and several transverse angular lines or chevrons in the central longitudinal line of the hinder part of the upperside. The eyes are on black spots, closely grouped, but in the ordinary position. The interval between those of the hind central pair is much greater than that between each and the hind lateral nearest to it, and equal to nearly an eye's diameter; those of the foremost row appeared to be as nearly as possible equidistant from, and, in fact, almost contiguous to, each other ; those of the fore central pair are, as usual, the smallest of the eight, the fore laterals being apparently the largest. The leys are moderate in length and strength, their relative length being 1, 4, 2, 3 ; they are furnished with hairs and a few slender spine-like bristles, one near the centre of the upperside of the tibiae of the fourth pair being stronger than the rest and decidedly a spine. This shows the difficulty of accepting the character of the armature of the legs as a generic one, the present species combining (in this respect) the characters of both Linyphia and Erigone. The palpi are short. The radial joint is not much longer though stronger than the cubital; it spreads out nearly all round at its fore extremity, where it has a small thorn-like apophysis on the upper-side, and another small, but rather stronger and more obtuse one somewhere on its outer side. There are a few bristly hairs in a group towards the outer part of the upperside of the radial joint, and a single one towards the inner side. The digital joint is small. The palpal organs are prominent, highly developed, and moderately complex : a strong corneous process curves up from their base on the inner side, round and over between the base of the digital and fore extremity of the radial joints, and, tapering as it goes, terminates in a point at the middle of the outer side of the digital joint; the position and direction of this process is very peculiar and unlike any thing that I remember to have yet observed in the great diversity of structure presented in the palpal organs of different Spiders of this and other allied groups. Another process of these organs in the present species forms a large, roundish, corneous lobe, which projects considerably beneath on the outer side, and has a small, black, pointed, spine-like projection near its extremity. The maxillee are short, strong, and considerably inclined towards the labium, which last is of the usual, somewhat semicircular form ; but it is strongly impressed in a transverse direction below its apex, giving this part the appearance, when looked at sideways, of curling back over towards the base: this is a peculiarity in the form of the labium which I have noticed in some other species, including the last described, E. flavescens; and perhaps it will eventually be found to be a good and useful character for the subdivision of this now large group of obscure little Spiders. |
