30 



THE COMMON SPIDERS 



THE GENUS XYSTICUS 



In these spiders the general appearance is crab-like. The 

 abdomen is not much larger than the thorax, and both are flat 

 and wide. The first and second legs are a third longer than 



the third and fourth. The colors are usually 

 various shades of brown and gray, in small 

 spots and bands. On the upper side of each 

 leg is usually a light line, with dark 

 lines on each side of it. The gait is 

 often sidewise, the legs kept close 

 to the ground, so that the spider can 

 move in a narrow crack. They live 

 under stones and bark and leaves, 

 and some, like triguttatits, on low 

 plants. The males have longer legs 

 and smaller abdomen and all the dark 

 markings larger and darker than the 

 females. In triguttatus there is great 

 difference between the sexes, but in 

 most species very little, as in limba- 

 tus and stomacJwsus. The head is 

 generally low, and the four middle 

 eyes form a rectangle a little wider 

 than high (fig. 97). 



Xysticus stomachosus. — A middle- 

 sized and light-colored species, with 

 gray markings on a light ground, 

 the markings most distinct on the hinder legs and abdomen. 

 The middle of the thorax is lighter than the sides, and there 

 is a small dark spot in the middle and a larger one on each 

 side toward the hinder end (figs. 87, 88). The third and fourth 

 legs have a distinct dark spot at the ends of femur, patella, and 



Figs. 87, 88. Xysticus stomacho- 

 sus. — 87, female. 88, male. 

 Both enlarged four times. 



