undescribed Species of Araneidse. 5L 



Plates of the spiracles large and of a pale yellow colour. Spinning raam- 

 mulae prominent and cylindrical, the inferior pair appearing to be the 

 longest when in a state of repose. 



Length, from the anterior part of the cephalothorax to the extremity of 

 the abdomen, £ths of an inch; length of the cephalothorax £; breadth ^; 

 breadth of the abdomen I •; length of a posterior leg- 4- J length of a leg of 

 the third pair g. 



The male resembles the female in colour, but as the fifth or terminal 

 joint of the palpi, in all those individuals which have fallen under my ob- 

 servation, has been ovate in figure and simple in structure, it is evident 

 that they had not attained maturity. 



This species, which has a close affinity with Drassus sylvestris, I have 

 found inclosed in white, silken tubes, of a fine, compact texture, attached 

 to the inferior surface of stones and fragments of rock, in the neighbour- 

 hood of Manchester, and near Llanrwst in Denbighshire. 



Tribe y Inequitelje, Latreille. 

 Genus, Theridio?i, Walckenaer. 



Theridion riparium. 



Cephalothorax inversely heart-shaped, convex and glossy above, with a 

 large indentation in the medial line of the posterior region. Mandibles 

 small, conical, perpendicular. Maxillae obliquely truncated on the outer 

 side at the extremity, and inclined towards the lip which is quadrate. 

 Pectus heart-shaped. Palpi short and robust. These parts are of a red- 

 brown colour, the cephalothorax and pectus being much the darkest. Legs 

 strong; the first pair is the longest, then the fourth, the third pair being 

 the shortest ; they are of a yellowish brown colour, with broad bands of 

 red-brown. Eyes situated on the anterior part of the cephalothorax ; four, 

 which are intermediate, form a square, the two in front being seated on 

 a protuberance; the other four are disposed in pairs on the sides of the 

 square; the eyes constituting each pair are placed obliquely on an eminence 

 and are contiguous. The abdomen, which is thinly covered with short 

 hairs, is remarkably convex, projecting over the base of the cephalothorax; 

 it is red-brown above mottled with black and white, and is bisected by an 

 irregular, transverse, white line, interrupted in the middle by a triangular, 

 black spot, between which and the spinners is a curved, transverse, black 

 line; under side of the abdomen brownish black with a transverse band of 

 a red-brown colour near the spinners. Plates of the spiracles red-brown. 



Length, from the anterior part of the cephalothorax to the extremity of 

 the abdomen, ^th of an inch ; length of the cephalothorax -fa} breadth T V; 

 breadth of the abdomen T v ; length of an anterior leg -^ ; length of a leg 

 of the third pair y^. 



The female of this species spins an irregular web of fine glossy lines un- 

 der the projections of broken, precipitous banks, in the woods about Oak- 

 land. In the month of August she constructs a long, slender, conical, up- 

 right tube of silk, of a slight texture, measuring from one and a half to 

 two and a half inches in length, and about half an inch in diameter at the 

 lower extremity; it is closed above, open below, and thickly covered on 

 the outside with bits of earth, minute pebbles, dried leaves, flowers of 

 heath, &c. Suspended from the projection of the bank to which the web 

 is attached by strong lines connected with the apex, and united to the web 

 laterally by numerous slender threads, the tube is held firmly in its position. 

 In the upper part of this curious domicile the spider fabricates two or three 

 slight, globular cocoons of yellowish white silk, about T Vth of an inch in 



H2 



