E. JACOBSON, TllOMISUS DECIPIENS KORBES. 1 89 



of birds and emits a rather pronounced smell of faeces ; it 

 sat upon a web closely stuck to the leaf. 



I kept this remarkable animal in a small jar for about 

 six weeks; it did not move at all, remaining at the same 

 spot, only walking around for a short while when disturbed. 



Waiting for food the spider sometimes widely stretched 

 out the first and second pair of legs, but when the jar was 

 only slightly shaken it withdraw all its legs pressed closely 

 to the bod}-. I first fed it on common houseflies ; the latter 

 did not seem to be especially attracted by the odour of the 

 spider, but if they happened to come in its vicinity the)' 

 walked over the spider's bod}' and would even suck at its 

 abdomen, which seemed to be constantly wet. Practically at 

 the same moment the flies were caught. Later on blowflies 

 were given, which also were not attracted by the peculiar 

 smell and did not suck at the spider's abdomen, but being 

 close by were quickly caught and sucked out. 



From April 15 th till Ma}' 8 th , having been on a collecting 

 trip, I left my prisoner without food. 



On my return, much to my astonishment, I found the 

 spider still in a rather good condition, however not being 

 too fat, I immediately put five houseflies in the jar, which 

 were all sucked out at the same da}', the next and following 

 days the spider would not take any more food and unfortu- 

 nately died on the 1 I th of May before enabling me to test 

 the mimetic power of its faecal odour by placing real 

 dungflies in the jar. 



In FORBES' well known book „A Naturalist's Wanderings 

 in the Eastern Archipelago" (1885), this Ornithoscatoides is 

 mentioned twice by its discoverer; he collected it once in 

 Java and once in Sumatra. In both instances he states 

 positively that the spider was lying on its back on the leaf. 



This was not the case with the specimen described above 

 and which I observed in confinement, nor with the one 

 Mr. JACOBSON found in Sumatra, as he informed me. Lately 

 I collected this spider in great number on the island of 

 Sebesi in Sunda Strait and also in the island of Krakatoa 

 near by. All these spiders were sitting in the normal way 

 with their under side towards the leaf. FORBES mentions 



