J. II. Enwrton — New Englajid Therididm. 7 



Theridiwn have, in place of tlie flat sheet, only a small tent or thick- 

 ened part of the web, under which the spider stands and near which 

 she hangs her cocoons of eggs. 



I include in this family the Tlieridioidm of Thorell, leaving out 

 PachygnatJia, which belongs with TetragnatJui in another family, 

 but including the Seytodoidm. It is very diflicult to divide this 

 family into smaller groups, but the division of the larger species into 

 Theridiidm and Linyphiidm^ as has been done by Blackwall and 

 Menge, seems to me a natural one, and Pholcus and Scytodes evi- 

 dently form a natural group by themselves. The other small spiders, 

 usually included in Erigone, or by Blackwall and Cambridge in. 

 Neriene and WidclceMCcra, I include in another group, though the 

 limits between it and the other sub-families are very uncertain. 

 This divides the family into the following four sub-families: 



1. Theridinse. 

 The maxillae in this group are pointed at the inner corner, and 

 turned inward toward the lip. The palpi of the male do not have 

 the tarsal hook. The thorax is usually short and wide and the abdo- 

 men large. The following genera are in this group: 



Tlieridmm^ Argyrodes, Spinthams, 



Ero^ ■ l/lesanis, Steatoda, 



Mimetus, Eiiryopis, Asagena, 



Theridula, Easceola, Pholcotmna. 



2. Scytodinae. 



These are pale, long-legged spiders, with short round thorax, and 

 six eyes, or eight with the front pair very small. The palpal oi'gan 

 is not enclosed in a hollow of the tarsus, and in Scytodes is very 

 simple, as in the 3Iygalidie, while in Pholcus it has several large 

 appendages from the base. The maxillai are turned inward over the 

 lip. The genera are 



Pholcus, Spermophora, Scytodes. 



3. Erigoninae. 



This group includes most of the old genus, Erigone. All the 

 species are small, 1""" or 2'""^ long. The abdomen is usually long and 

 oval, not thick or rounded as in Theridiuce, and the cephalothorax is 

 usually longer and the legs shorter, as in Drassidm. The maxilla 

 are short and straight on the ends, not pointed inward. The males of 



