152 Transactions. — Zoology. 



gins, and about five dark spots ; on lateral margins are a series 

 of three oblique darkish streaks, converging towards spinners ; 

 ventral shield linear-ovate ; normal dark hue. Abdomen 

 sparsely clothed with hairs. Vulva red-mahogany ; moderately 

 prominent ; displays above, two circular foveae, divided by a 

 longitudinal septum, whose breadth about equals their dia- 

 meter; on the tumid margin, above therima genitalis, are two 

 bright reddish-mahogany circular convexities, connected by a 

 broad ligament, whose breadth equals their diameter. 



Examples of this species were captured on the summit of 

 Te Aroha; were numerous — especially males — amongst the 

 ferns up the Wairongomai Gorge. Individually they varied 

 both in coloration and distinctness of pattern. A. T. U. 



Aet, XIII. — On a noAV Sjjecies of Gasteracautha, fro7n 



Norfolk Island. 



By A. T. Ukquhaet. 



[Read before the A^ickland Institute, 22nd October, 1888.] 



Plate VII. 



Fam. EPEIEID^. 



Genus Gasteracantha, Sund. 



Gasteracantha ocillatum, sp. nov. Plate VII., figs. 1-3. 



Female. — Ceph. th., long, 3"2 ; broad, 2. Abd., long, 

 6*5; broad, 16; to apex of posterior spines, 21-5. Legs, 4, 

 1-2, 3 = 10, 9, 7 mm. 



Geplialothorax brown, clouded, more especially on caput 

 and sides, with black ; hairs sparse, short, yellowish ; broad 

 oval, slightly compressed forwards, pars cephalica squarely 

 truncated, frontal contour between ocular eminence, which is 

 low, and fore-lateral eyes perceptibly convex ; caput limited 

 by a rather deep transverse groove, which takes a procurved 

 lunulate form on median line ; base rises, somewdiat abruptly, 

 into two sub-conical prominences, divided by a longitudinal 

 cleft nearly equal to base of prominences in width, connected 

 with ocular eminence by two rather faint lateral stria? ; pars 

 thoracica somewhat depressed, radial stria? well defined ; 

 profile-contour of pars cephalica conical, slight slope across 

 thorax ; height of clypeus visibly exceeds diameter of an 

 anterior central eye. 



Four median eyes represent a trapezoid, whose anterior 

 side is shortest ; posterior pair sensibly the largest, more 

 than twice their space from side-eyes of same row, separated 

 from each other by rather more than twice their diameter, 



