258 Transactions. — Zoology. 



Sternum brownish stone-colour, margins dark; broad- 

 cordate. 



Abdomen oviform, convex, projects over base of cephalo- 

 thorax ; somewhat sparsely clothed with short hairs ; light- 

 brown, dorsal surface sufi'used with dark-brown ; basal half 

 displays a conspicuous dark-brown Maltese cross, with a 

 rather broad pinkish border, latter prolonged as a moderately 

 wide undulating band to spinners. Ventral surface semi- 

 pellucid slate-colour. Corpus vulvce brown ; represents a 

 small truncated cone, orifice at apex ; on posterior side is a 

 tumid lip, extending laterally rather further than base of 

 cone. The light-brown branchial opercula placed somewhat 

 close together ; in contact with vulva. 



Single example, Te Karaka, .4. T. U. 



Theridium scricum/'- sp. nov. Plate XVII., fig. 2. 



Male.- — Ceph.-th., long, 4; broad, 3. Abd., long, o; 

 broad, 3. Legs, 1, 4, 2, 3 = 19, 17, 15, 12 mm. 



Ceplialoilwrax red-chestnut colour ; glabrous; broad-oval, 

 lateral constriction at caput rather slight ; pars cephalica 

 depressed, sides somewhat abrupt ; pars thoracica convex, 

 fovea nearly circular, dee^o ; caput and radial stri® well- 

 defined ; profile-line represents posteriorly a moderate angle, 

 curved slightly across base of caput, rising perceptibly to 

 hind row of eyes. Clypeus convex, projects forwards, length 

 rather less than two-thirds depth of facial space. 



Anterior row of eyes moderately recurved, central pair 

 rather the smallest and darkest of the eight ; separated from 

 each other by an interval equal to about three-fourths their 

 diameter, rather less than that space from laterals of same 

 row ; posterior row perceptibly procurved, median pair some- 

 what oval, rather further from side-eyes than they are from 

 one another, a space scarcely equalling their shortest diameter ; 

 laterals hardly equal hind centrals in size, have their pearl- 

 grey lustre ; posited obliquely, nearly contiguous, on low 

 tubercular eminences. 



Legs fulvous, coxte and base of femora tinged with red- 

 dish brown ; rather slender, first and fourth pairs somewhat 

 the stoutest ; armature, fine black hairs, few slender bristles. 



Palpi and legs concolorous ; humeral joint one-fourth 

 longer than cubital and radial together ; former article viewed 

 from above somewhat oval, scarcely wider than pars hume- 

 ralis, projects two long bristles ; radial joint rather longer 

 than broad at fore-end, tapers to base ; slightly exceeds cubi- 

 tal in length ; digital joint surpasses two former articles in 

 length ; lamina ovate, somewhat elongated, pointed ; bulbus 



* Female described in " Trans. N.Z. Inst.," vol. xviii., p. 198. 



