~ ae ae 
I19t5.] K. NARAYAN: Anté-like Spiders. AOI 
The cephalic part is high and rounded on the sides. There is 
a constriction behind the dorsal eyes which cuts much more deeply 
into the sides of the cephalothorax than into the upper surface. 
The thoracic part is just a little lower than the cephalic; its 
highest part is in the anterior third, from which it slopes down in 
all directions, the slope being steeper on the sides than posteriorly. 
The posterior margin of the thorax is considerably narrower than 
the middle portion, where it is broadest. The quadrangle of eyes 
is more than a third wider than long and wider behind than in 
front. ‘The first row of eyes is bent a little downward with the 
eyes close together; the 2nd row of eyes is about midway be- 
tween the Ist and 3rd rows. 
The most characteristic feature which distinguishes this species 
at once from others is the shape of the falces (cf. pl. xxxii, 
figs. 4a, 4b). They are long, stout structures with their proximal 
halves compressed from side to side, and eiliptical in transverse 
section ; while the distal halves are convexly flat dorsally and 
ridged ventrally and triangular in transverse section, the dorsal 
surface forming the base of the triangle. At the junction of the 
two halves, there is, so to speak, a regular twist through a right 
angle, the outer edge of the distal half being continued into the 
mid-dorsal ridge of the elliptical posterior half of the falx. Looked 
at from the side the falx is sinuous and possesses a short basal 
piece as in M. laetus. Ventrally there is a row of 9 small teeth on 
the outer edge and a row of 17 larger teeth on the inner edge of 
the falx. The fang is as long as the falx and has a curve at the 
base and a bend at the apex. The right palpus from below is 
shown in pl. xxxii, fig. 4c. The tibia of the 1st leg bears two rows 
of five spines each on its underside and the femur has one spine 
dorsally. The lip is longer than broad and the sternum is truncate 
anteriorly. 
The abdomen also is characteristic. Out of 13 specimens 
almost all have got their abdomens flexed ; in some it is only bent, 
while in others it is distinctly vertical, the posterior two-thirds 
bending on the anterior third. It is long and oval, but is not 
constricted. Dorsally it is convex and hard with chitin, while 
ventrally it is soft and flat. 
Colour.—The cephalothorax is medium brown, the cephalic 
part with an olivaceous tinge dorsally. Both the cephalic and the 
thoracic parts are covered with short white hairs which also line 
the constriction behind the dorsal eyes specially towards the sides. 
The falces are dark brown in colour. ‘The abdomen is brown and 
is covered with glistening yellowish-white hairs. There are white 
hairs on the sides at the anterior third. The posterior legs are 
darker in colour than the anterior. The metatarsus and tarsus 
in all the legs are darker than the other joints. 
This species is closely allied to M. manducatoy (Westwood, 
Mag. de Zool. Anneé 1841, pl. i) from which it differs in the follow- 
ing points: the twist in the falx is characteristic of this species; 
the number of teeth on the ‘‘ marge inférieure”’ is 17 and not g 
