Superfamily Avicularioidea 



rubbed, with close, long dark hairs, and marked with an obscure 

 longitudinal, median stripe and a transverse zone. The abdomen 

 is black below. 



The specimen was from Eagle Pass, Tex. 



Subfamily DIPLURIN^ (Dip-lu-ri'nae) 

 The Funnel-web Tarantulas 



The funnel-web tarantulas resemble the two preceding 

 families in having the postabdomen situated immediately above 

 the spinnerets and in having the furrow of the cheliceras well- 

 marked. They differ from the bird-spiders in having the tarsi 

 furnished with a third claw instead of a bundle of terminal tenent 

 hairs; and from the trap-door spiders in the absence of the rake 

 of the chelicerae. 



The habits of our species have not been published; but cer- 

 tain exotic forms spin large webs of close, cloth-like tissue, ter- 

 minated by a funnel, like the webs of the grass spider. And 1 

 found at Austin, Tex., the young of a species of Evagrus common 

 under stones, resting in a sheet web. The presence of the third 

 claw of the tarsus shows that they live upon webs or sheets of 

 silk; and the absence of the rake of the cheliceraa indicates that 

 they are not burrowing in their habits. 



Only three species have been described from our fauna; 

 these represent two genera. 



TABLE OF GENERA OF THE DIPLURIN/E 



A. Anterior tarsi and metatarsi more or less scopulate; paired 



claws with a double series of teeth; space between the 



fore spinnerets twice the width of the spinnerets; tarsi 



unarmed. Brachythele 



AA. Tarsi not at all scopulate; paired claws with a single series 



of teeth; space between the fore spinnerets at least four 



times the width of the spinnerets; posterior tarsi at least 



spined. Evagrus 



Genus BRACHYTHELE (Brach-y-the'lej 



The anterior eyes are of equal size or the anterior median 

 are a little smaller than the anterior lateral. I he metatarsi of 



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