UiiQUHAHT. — On a Xcir Species of Argiope. 235 



together ; two latter articles equal to digital joint ; armature 

 sparse fine hairs, numerous bristles, especially on penultimate 

 and terminal joints ; palpal claw 8 teeth, 2 basal small, 6 open 

 teeth ; free end bent forwards, base enlarged. 



Falces brownish-yellow, base suffused with olive-green, 

 apex light-brown ; vertical, somewhat conical, project at base 

 in front ; length 3mm., breadth exceeds one-half length. 



Maxillce dark chocolate-brown, apices yellowish on inner 

 side ; spathulate, rather longer than broad, directed towards 

 each other. 



Labium dark chocolate-brown, yellowish apex ; rather 

 lu'oader than long, i-oundly pointed, moderately everted. 



Sternum dark chocolate-brown ; central mark yellowish, 

 undulating, acuminate ; cordate ; eminences opposite coxae 

 well developed. 



Abdomen oviform, about as deep as broad, slightly convex 

 above, projects forwards and upwards over base of cephalo- 

 thorax ; displays a tubercular eminence in front ; from the 

 somewhat pointed prominence at posterior end the abdomen 

 dips abruptly inwards to spinners ; lateral margins corrugated ; 

 humeral processes moderately developed, rounded, directed 

 upwards and outwards, placed rather close together and some- 

 what forward ; the integument, with the exception of a Itxrge 

 stone-coloured somewhat circular patch on fore-part, extend- 

 ing backwards to base of humeral processes, has a soft velvety 

 appearance, is of a rich-brown colour, clouded with a deeper 

 hue (appears nearly black to the unaided eye) ; the darker 

 portions sparsely clothed with erect black hairs, and the stone- 

 coloured pattern with silky, white, adpressed hairs ; dorsal 

 field elongate-oval, moderately constricted in centre, defined 

 by a series of spots ; basal half enclosed by six spots ; anterior 

 pair rather large, lunulate, partially encircle humeral processes 

 on outer side ; four hind spots much smaller, somewhat similar 

 in form ; posterior half bordered by more or less connected 

 dots ; on fore-half is a plier-shaped figure, formed by two short 

 parallel lines extending from anterior pair of impressed spots 

 to stone-coloured area, between them is a pale spot ; diverg- 

 ing backwards from near the latter are two lines thickening 

 and curving inwardly above the second pair of impressed spots ; 

 six dots occur between the latter spot and posterior end of the 

 oval field, four form a quadrilateral figure at the constriction, 

 two midway between them and posterior end of dorsal field ; 

 on lateral margins are two inteiTupted lines, following the con- 

 tour of the median area — upper defined by a series of some- 

 what elongated dots, second row chieflv formed bv three 

 moderately-curved marks ; few interrupted oblique hues con- 

 verge towards spinners ; sides and ventral surface olive-green 

 tinge ; shield bordered by a broken, undulating, stone-coloured 



