EPEIRA. 21 
Epeira bimaculata, sp. n. 
Adult female, length 3 lines; adult male, 1 line. 
The whole of the fore part, including the cephalothorax, falces, sternum, maxillw, labium, legs, and palpi, is 
yellow tinged with orange; in the female the tibiae of the fourth pair of legs are broadly annulated with 
dark orange. A dusky blackish line bisects the cephalothorax longitudinally, and is least marked in the 
male. The legs are moderately strong, and armed with longish black spines; their relative length is 
4, 1, 2, 3, that of 4,1, and 2 not differing much. The thoracic portion of the cephalothorax is consi- 
derably raised or gibbous, and the hinder slope, therefore, correspondingly steep. 
The eyes are in the usual’three groups, well separated, but not greatly so. The four central eyes form a 
trapezoid, whose longitudinal is greater than its transverse diameter; the hinder pair of the trapezoid are 
the largest, edged with black, and almost contiguous to each other; the anterior pair are close to the 
lower margin of the clypeus, seated on a slight prominence, and separated from each other by about half 
a diameter; those of each lateral pair are smallest, contiguous to each other, and seated obliquely on 
a slight tubercle. 
The abdomen of the female is oblong-oval, obtusely pointed in front, and projecting greatly over the base of 
the cephalothorax; it is of a dull drab-yellow or light yellow-brown colour, marked on the upperside 
and sides with numerous small white cretaceous-looking spots; on the upperside towards the spinners 
are two longish oblong parallel dark brown spots or blotches, one on each side of the median line, broadly 
margined on their outer side by the white spots above mentioned, and both in front of and behind these 
brown blotches are faint indications of other brown spots along the middle of the abdomen, but forming no 
traceable pattern. On each side of and behind the two blotches the abdomen is strongly suffused with 
orange. The spinners are short, compact, of a dull orange-brown colour, and on each side of them the 
abdomen has a conspicuous white spot. The genital process is conspicuous, rather prominent, of a brownish- 
orange colour, edged with deep black-chestnut, 
Hab. GuateMALa, between Petet and Chicoyoito, Cahabon, Quirigua (Sarg) ; 
Panama, Veragua (Loucard). 
This spider is nearly allied to E. passiva, but may easily be distinguished by the 
size and disposition of the four central eyes, as well as by the form and structure of the 
genital process. 
The male resembles the female in colours and markings, though the large brown 
blotches on the abdomen of the latter sex are, in the male, each broken up into two or 
three smaller ones, and are almost jet-black, being thus very conspicuous. The palpi 
are short, exhibiting no very marked peculiarity. The cubital joint is furnished with 
a long, prominent, tapering bristle. The palpal bulb is rather small ; the palpal organs 
are well developed, not very complex, and have two tolerably conspicuous, slightly 
curved, dark spines—one at their fore extremity, and one on the outer side. In this 
sex the first and second pairs of legs are longer than the fourth. 
From Mr. Sarg’s notes it seems that preservation in spirit has rather destroyed the 
markings of, at any rate, one of the females. He says: ‘“ The cephalothorax is pale 
reddish-brown, covered with whitish hairs; legs yellow-ochre, the 3rd joint [? tibie | 
burnt sienna banded with dark ‘sepia ; abdomen pale yellow-brown, with a brown 
band and numerous brown marks down the centre, and yellow-ochre beneath, with a 
broad black band to the spinners.” He also remarks that the cocoon is complex, 
consisting of five connected angular sacs, each covered with knob-like processes. 
