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Show 212 ARACJINIDE '. FAMILY III. HOLETRA(t ). The trunk and abdomen arc here united in one mass, under a common epidermis, or at most, the thorax is divided by a strangulation, and the abdomen, in some, merely exhibits an appearance of annuli, formed by the plicre of the abdomen. The anterior extremity of their body frequently projec~ in the form of a snout or rostrum ; most of them have eight legs, and the remainder six(2). · This family consists of two tribes. In the first or the PHA· LANG IT A, Lat., we observe very apparent chelicerm which either project in front of the trunk, or are inferior, and always terminating in a didactyle forceps, preceded by one or two joints. They have two :filiform palpi, composed of five joints, the last of which is terminated by a small nail ; two distinct eyes; two jaws formed by the prolongation of the radical joint of the pal pi, and frequently four more(3 ), which are also a mere dilatation of the hip of the two first pairs of legs. The body is oval or rounded, and covered, the trunk at least, with a firmer skin; there is also an appearance of annuli or plicre on the abdomen. The legs, of which there are always eight, are long, and distinctly divided, like those of Insects( 4 ). At the (1) IloLF.TnA, Hermann. (2) The Trombidium longipes, Hermann, Jun., Mem. Apter., pl. I, 8, is represented with ten legs, the two first very long. He allows but eight in the text. (3). If we suppose .that the two superior jaws, with their palpi, represent the mand1bles of the Crustacea Decapoda, the other four will also represent the jaws of the same animals, and the two jaw& and inferior lip of the triturating (Broyetm) Insects. From M:. Marcel de Serres we learu that the ganglion which immediately follows. the, lm1in, is opposite to the third pair of legs, which, according to these approxtmattons, are analogous to the first pair in Insects; now, there also we find the same ganglion in the latter. See Myriapoda. (4) The hips, thighs, tibire, and tarsi are the same as in the preceding families. Uut the legs of the At·achnides Tracheari re at·e composed of short joints, whose rela· TRACJIEARl.IE. 213 . · f the two posterior legs, at least in several-Phalan-orJgiD 0 . are two stigmata, one on eac h s1" d e, b ut h"1d d en b y t h e1· r gmm- . hips. Most of them live on the ground, at the foot of trees, and lants and are very active; others conceal themselves on p ' • • under stones and in moss. Their sexual organs are Internal, and placed under the mouth. PnALANGIUM, Lin., Fab. The chelicerre projecting, much shorter than the body; eyes placed on a common tubercle. Their legs are very long and slender, and when detached from the body show signs of irritability fot· a few moments. The two sexes in coitu are placed opposite to each other; this occurs at the latter end of summer. The penis of the male is fo~med like a dart, and has a demi-sagittal termination. The female has a filiform, flexible, annulated and membranous oviduct. The trachere are tubular. Ph. cornutum, L., the male; Opilio, Id., the female; Herbst., Monog. Phal., I, 3, the male; lb., 1, the female. Body oval, reddish or cinereous above; black beneath; palpi long; two ranges of small spines on the ocular tubercles, and spines on the thighs; corneous chelicerre in the males; a blackish band with a festooned margin on the back of the female( I). A celebrated English entomologist, M. Kirby, under the name of GoNOLEPTEs, has formed a particular genus of the species with spinous palpi, the two last joints of which are nearly equal, sub-oval, and terminated by a stout nail, and in which the hips of the two posterior legs are very large, soldered, and form a plate under the body. These legs are separated from the others and placed behind( 2). In Phalangium properly so called, the palpi are filiform, spineless, and terminated by a joint much longer than the preceding one, with a little terminal hook. All the legs are approximated, with similar coxre contiguous at their origin. Such are all the species indigenous to Europe. tive proportions differ very gradually, so that these distinctions of parts ar<' less ~pparent. (1) See the Monograph of this genus, published by Latreille at the end of the 1fistoire des Fourmis, and those of Herbst., and Hermann, Jun., Mem. Apter. (2) Gonolepte.~ lwrridus, Lin. T1·ans., XH, xxii, 16; from Bl'azil. |
