Contributions to the South African Arachnid Fauna. 453 



hairs are in general a bright orange colour. The <$ (apparently 

 newly moulted) were still less red in colour, and the orange hairs on 

 ocular tubercle were very scanty. 



The species is gregarious and lives in nests constructed on thorny 

 bushes or small acacias ; the central, inhabited portion of the nest is 

 composed of dense matted silk, often combined either intentionally or 

 most probably by wind agency with very fine sand, and interwoven 

 with wings and bodies, etc., of various insects captured by the colony. 

 The latter live in the tunnels of the central mass, and their prey is 

 caught by the large outer network spread over the bush surrounding 

 the central mass. The spiders themselves were fairly sluggish when 

 disturbed ; in one nest egg capsules of the circular tabloid shape 

 common to the Eresidae were fairly plentiful ; in others the young 

 spiders had already hatched out, and in some cases were forming 

 their own communities. 



Specimens (No. B2111) from Haris, S. of Windhuk, S.W. Africa 

 (K. W. Tucker, 9/1/16), were sub-adult 9 ? (7 mm. long), paler, with 

 less white hairs and scarcely any orange ones ; carapace was also 

 longer relative to the legs, being equal to tibia, metatarsus, and ^ or 

 more of tarsus of 1st leg. These specimens, however, and others 

 coincide with the young specimens of deserticola, and the above and 

 following localities in S.W. Africa can be no doubt added to those in 

 which 8. deserticola is to be found Narnseui,Kabiras, Nauchas, Areb, 

 Choaberib and S.W. Windhuk at all of which specimens were taken. 



GEN. DEESSEEUS, Sim. 

 DRESSERTJS COLSONI, n. sp. (Plate XXIX, fig. 4). 



Specimens. 2 ? ? and juvs. (No. 13172, Types) and 2 ? $ (No. 

 13556) from Lydenburg, Transvaal (E. Colson, 11-12/03 and /04). 



Colour. In spirits carapace is dark red ; chelicera very slightly 

 darker ; legs reddish-brown, anterior ones darker ; abdomen dull 

 testaceous brown, covered with short dark hairs. Sternum and coxae 

 medium brown ; mouth-parts slightly redder. 



Carapace. Equal in length to tibia, metatarsus and tarsus, and 

 to patella, tibia and f metarsus of the 1st leg ; and to the patella, 

 tibia and f metatarsus of the 4th leg. Width subequal to the tibia 

 and metatarsus of the 1st leg, and reaching from the bottom of the 

 fovea to the anterior median eyes. Cephalic portion of carapace fairly 

 well raised above the thoracic. 



Eyes. Posterior medians 1^ diameters apart ; in area 4-5 times the 

 size of the anterior medians, the centres of which lie on or above the 



