undescribed Genera and Species of Araneidae. 18i> 



are highly developed, complex with spiny processes, and are 

 of a brownish-black colour tinged with red. Very old males 

 are darker coloured and have red legs. 



In the months of October and November this spider is 

 common in the plantations about Crumpsall Hall, constructing 

 its web among the grass under the trees. 



Ner'iene rubens. 



Cephalothorax inversely heart-shaped, slightly convex above, 

 and glossy, with a depression and an indentation in the pos- 

 terior region ; in front is an abrupt eminence, on which are 

 the eyes, placed on black spots. Mandibles robust, conical, 

 strongly toothed on the inner surface, and inclined towards 

 the pectus, which is heart-shaped. Maxillae moderately en- 

 larged at their apices, and inclined towards the lip. Legs and 

 palpi hairy, the former provided with a few spines ; the two 

 superior tarsal claws are pectinated, and the inferior one is 

 inflected near its base. Palpi abundantly supplied with black 

 spines, one longer than the rest, projecting from the anterior 

 extremity of the third joint. These parts, with the exceptions 

 already noticed, are of a yellowish-red colour. Abdomen 

 oval, somewhat convex above, projecting over the base of the 

 cephalothorax, thinly clad with hair, glossy, and of a red- 

 brown hue, which varies in intensity in different individuals. 

 Sexual organs black with a tinge of red. Plates of the spira- 

 cles pale orange. 



Length, from the anterior part of the cephalothorax to the 

 extremity of the abdomen, ^th of an inch ; length of the cepha- 

 lothorax T l g ; breadth J n ; breadth of the abdomen T 2 F ; length 

 of an anterior leg J. 



The male is rather smaller than the female, but the relative 

 length of its legs is the same; the tibiae of the first and second 

 pairs are dilated underneath at their anterior extremities, and 

 these enlargements are thickly clad with fine long hairs. The 

 second joint of the palpi is very powerful, enlarging gradually 

 from the base to its anterior extremity, which is armed with 

 a strong spur, and a great number of minute, sharp-pointed, 

 black spines, on the upper side; the third joint is short and 

 robust; the fourth is furnished with two apophyses; the inner 

 one is much the longer and tapers to a point: it is curved 

 obliquely across the upper part of the fifth joint, and is pro- 

 vided with a strong projecting point near its base ; the exterior 

 apophysis is much shorter and more obtuse : the fifth joint 

 is oval, convex externally, concave within, comprising the 

 sexual organs, which are complicated in structure, exhibiting 



