AKCHITKCTURE OF AUSTRALIAN ARAXEID.i: — RAIXBOW. 331 



characters that separate Theridion from Lhiyphia, it is not so 

 easy to separate the latter from Araueus ; the single feature relied 

 upon by authors to distinguish the two latter, namel}", the greater 

 or lesser width of the clypeus being of little value and not even 

 constant. On the other hand there exists between Linyphla and 

 Araueus all possible passages, in which respect the sub-family 

 Tetragnathinaj is particularly interesting^ 



Linyphiinaj are divided into three natural groups : Erigonea?, 

 Foi'micineai and Linyphiei^', and of these the first and third occur 

 in Australia. The .second includes two genera, namely, Formicina, 

 Canest., and Svleni/sa, Sim. The former is apparently restricted 

 to the Meditteranean region, and the latter Japan. 



The head-quarters of Erigonese are apparently Palaearctica. Tlae 

 group contains upwards of sixty genera, and an immense number 

 of species. Very few are known from Oceania, and only one 

 species, Reriene nnalis, Sim., has so far been described from 

 Australia (Victoria inter.^). The geographical range of JYeri&ne, 

 Blackw., is " Europa et Reg. mediterr. ; Asia sept., centr. et 

 orient; Amer. sept, et merid. ; N.-Hollandia et N.-Zealandia.""^ 



The Linyphie;e group embraces about twenty-seven genera, some 

 of which are of world-wide distribution. Two only, however, are 

 known to occur in Australasia : JJathyphantes, Menge, and 

 Lini/phia, Latr. Of these the range of the former is " Eui'opa ; 

 Reg. mediterr. ; Asia sept., centr., orient, et merid. ; N.-Hollandia 

 et N.-Zealandia ; America sept, et merid. andina,"*' and of the 

 latter, " Orbis I'eg. om. frigida?, temp, et rarius calidse."" Bathy- 

 phantes is represented by B. weburdi ; it was described by 

 Urquhart as a species of Linypjhi((/, and was based upon a single 

 specimen collected at the Jenolan Caves, N. S. Wales. Four other 

 species, namely, L. melanozaiitha, L. quindecim-jninctata, L. sub- 

 lutea, and L. iiitens, have been described by the same author 

 from Tasmania." 



The webs of our native species have not been noted ; neverthe- 

 less, wherever the Linyphiin;e have been studied, they have been 

 found to make eitlier a Hat or dome-shaped web, suj^ported above, 

 below, and laterally by lunnerous irregular threads, the spider 

 standing, usually, underneath in some corner out of sight. I once 



•^ Simon — Hist. Kat. des Araignecs, 2nd ed., i., 1892, p. 593. 



* Simon — Loc. cif., p. 667. 



■'' Simon — Loc. cii., p. 667. 



•' Simon — Loc. ciL, p. 70.5. 



■^ Simon — Loc. cif., p. 707. 



*" Urquhart— Trans. N. Z. Inst., xxii., 1889, p. 236, pi. xvi. fig. 2. 



•' Urquhart- Proc. Eoj. Soc. Tas., 1892 (1893), pp. 103-108. 



