200 PROCEEDIKGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1888. 



A NEW FOSSIL SPIDER. EOATYPUS WOODWARDII. 

 BY HENRY C. MCCOOK, D. 1). 



While visiting the Bi'itish ]Museum of Xatural History at South 

 Kensington, London, in the summer of 1887, 1 was permitted to ex- 

 amine some fossil insects and fossil spiders thereiti contained, under 

 the kind direction of Dr. Henry Woodward, the Keeper of the 

 Geological Department. Among the aranead fossils I observed one 

 which appeared to me to be new to science, and closely related to 

 the genus Atypus. The fossil is a tolerably well preserved impres- 

 sion, taken from the Eocene Tertiary at Garnet Bay, Isle of Wight. 



After my return to America, Dr. Woodward sent me casts both 

 in wax and plaster, from which the appended description has been 

 made. These impressions somewhat shook the view which I was at 

 first inclined to take as to the systematic place of the specimen. 

 But on the whole, I am inclined to adhere, though with some qual- 

 ification, to my original judgment. 



The only hesitation that an araueologist Avould feel in placing the 

 species would be as to whether it belongs with the Saltigrades or 

 jumping spiders, among the Attida^ perhaps, or with the Territelaria? 

 among the Atypiua\ Those who have examined fossils of insects and 

 other small arthropods, especially of the order Aranese, will under- 

 stand the difficulty in determining with absolute accuracy their gen- 

 eric and specific rank, and will, therefore, not be sur])rised at this 

 hesitation concerning the above named specimen. 



The shape of the cephalothorax to some extent, especially as viewed 

 from the original fossil in the British Museum, and more particularly 

 the character of the falces as noted in a side view of the specimen 

 shown at Fig. 1, indicate that the fossil may belong to the family 

 Atypinae and be closely related to Aiypus. The name Eocdypns 

 Woochvardii is therefore suggested for the species. If this inference 

 is correct, we may possibly have in this new fossil the distant pro- 

 genitor of the present British species of Atypus, Atypus piceus. 



Order ARANEAE. 

 Family ATYPINAE. 

 EOATYPUS, Xov. Gen. 

 Eoatypus Woodwardii. 



The total length of body, including mandibles is, 8 mm. ; length 

 of abdomen 4 mm ; length of cephalothorax 3 mm. ; of mandibles 



