1889.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 341 



ON A NEW SPECIES OF SPIDER OF THE GENUS DINOPIS FROM 

 THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES, 



BY DR. GEO. MARX. 



My collection of Aranese of the U. S. contains, amongst other 

 new and undescribed material, several specimens of a new species 

 of the germs Dinopis Macleay, which were collected some years ago 

 in Florida and Alabama ; they rested in the collection undisturbed 

 and undescribed, but now, in preparing my "Catalogue of the de- 

 scribed Aranese of temperate North America," I avail myself of 

 the opportunity to add this peculiar and interesting spider to the 

 list of the described Aranese of our country. 



Unfortunately the specimens were collected by friends who were 

 not aware of the importance of the biology of this spider, for this 

 alone would guide us in placing the family Dinopiclae in its correct 

 natural position in regard to the affinity and relationship with other 

 families. This family has been assigned from time to time to 

 different places, viz., near the Attidse, the Lycosidre, the Uloborida?, 

 etc., according to the respective view of the different authors. 

 Since Doleschall, however (in Vol. V. of Acta. Scient. Indoneer- 

 land.), has stated of his Dinopis Kollarii that it builds between the 

 trees a free, irregular and wide-meshed web, in the center of which 

 it stands with the two pair of front legs stretched out forwardly, it 

 has been argued of late that the Dinopidae might be placed near 

 the Agalenidre. 



The late Dr. W. S. Barnard, who collected one specimen of this 

 species in 1880 in Alabama, stated to me then, that he had caught 

 it on a large horizontal web, which resembled very much that of 

 Agalena, but he could not find a tubular retreat attached to tin 1 

 web, as is the case with Agalena. This statement was made, how- 

 ever, from recollection only, but it corresponds with Doleschall's 

 description and I therefore feel myself safe to place the Dinopidae 

 near the Agalenida?. 



Dinopis spinosus n. sp. 



Cephalothorax ochreous-testaceous with a lighter colored longi- 

 tudinal median stripe over the cephalic part which appears again 

 on the posterior region of the thoracic part and lines the posterior 

 margin ; the dorsal surface is sparsely provided with very little 

 black and blunt spines which are distributed in irregular rows; 



