252 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 



mandibles are strong, conical, and dark brown, glossy, and provided with numerous yellow- 

 ish bristles on the inside; the tips and fangs are shining black. This species is distin- 

 guished from N. davipes by the brushlike appendages on the legs, which are etrongly 

 marked and placed on the femora and tibia of legs-I, II ; but in Clavipes are shorter and 

 feebler, and are wanting on femora-I, II. Further, the strong sternal cone opposite the 

 labium is but faintly developed in Clavipes. 



Abdomen : Cylindrical, thickest at the base, and tapering towards the apex ; general 

 color bright yellow, with a dark patch on the base, which extends upward to the dorsum. 

 A double row of round silver white spots, about eight in number, extends on either side 

 to the apex. Between these and along the sides are a number of roundish ovals and 

 crescent shaped markings, of light color, covering the entire dorsum and upper portion of 

 the sides, giving a remarkably beautiful appearance to the female. Similar marks extend 

 along the sides to the venter, the coloring on the sides being brown. The venter is golden 

 yellow, with a rectangular figure, composed of silvery white hairs, dividing the basal 

 portion. Within this rectangle are two rows of three or more silvery circles. The apex is 

 rounded, and de.scends with little anterior slope to the spinnerets. The white sjiots above 

 mentioned consist chiefly of hairs, which have a silvery white gloss. These hairs, placed 

 upon the bright yellow and brown colorings of the dorsum and sides, make this species 

 the most remarkable for beautiful coloring among all its race. The epigynum is a simple 

 arch above the genital cleft, whose rim is black, glossy, with short, yellow hairs. 



Male: Plate VII., Fig. 2.' Length of body, 6 mm., the cephalothorax being nearly 

 the same length as the abdomen. In general shape it resembles the female, but is ridicu- 

 lously small in contrast with its mate. The head and cephalothorax resemble that of the 

 female in general shape, the head being well erect, the cephalothorax rounded at the base 

 and fiattish. Both the cephalic and thoracic parts are covered with short white pubescence, 

 but not so as to form the silver coating characteristic of the female. The eyes are arranged 

 as in the female. The cymbium of the digital bulb is covered quite densely with hairs. 

 The embolus is prolonged into a long curved blade, nearly as long as the palp itself, 

 the most remarkable and characteristic feature of the animal next to its small size. The 

 two next joints are short, almost equal in size; the cubital joint has several bristles of 

 medium length, and the radial has one very long bristle. The femoral joint is longest, 

 tapering gradually towards the axillary. The sternum, labium, and maxillfe substantially 

 resemble those of the female, but the sternum is of much lighter color, and appears to be 

 destitute of the strong sternal cones that mark the female. The first leg is about 18 mm. 

 long, its color uniform yellow, slightly darker at the ends of the joints and towards the 

 feet. The tibial and femoral brushes are wanting. The abdomen is cylindrical, tapering 

 toward the apex, not wider tlian the cephalothorax ; a uniform yellowish color, with a dark 

 median band, running along the apical part ; the venter yellow, mottled. 



Distribution : Along the Southern Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, and southwesterly to 

 Southern California. The species is also found in the West Indies, and probably inhabits 

 the Northern States of South America. 



No. 101. Nephila "Wistariana,^ new species. Plate XXIII, Figs. 2, 3. 



1839. Nephila claiijx's (?), Koch .... Die Arachniilen, v., p. 30, pi. 152, Fig. 354. 

 1842. Nephila FfspMceo (?),AValckenaer' Ins. Apt., ii., p. 98. 

 1890. Nephila clavipes, Marx Catalogue, p. 551. 



' This specimen is in the National Museum at Washin^on, and I am indebted to the Chief Ento- 

 mologist, Professor C. V. Riley, for the opportunity to study it. The specimen is mounted on a pin, and 

 is, therefore, dry and shriveled. Several of the legs are wanting, but otherwise it is sufficiently perfect to 

 permit description. A second and more perfect specimen is from Dr. Marx's collection. 



= Proper name, General Isaac J. Wistar, President of the Academy of Natural .Sciences of Philadelphia. 



= Walckenaer's N. Vespucea (Vespucci?) is regarded by that author as identical with Koch's No. 354, 

 and his description fairly corresponds thereto. But the confusion is here so great that I give a new name, 

 as on the whole more satisfactory, and content myself with pointing out a probability which can only be 

 resolved by access to a good collection of this group. 



