520 Records of the Indtan Museum. [Vor. Soi 
wetted by the rains, or occasionally near water in the dry weather. 
Thus before the rains I only obtained two or three specimens, 
and these were all found under stones on moist (but not swampy) 
ground within a few yards of the Mahawelli Gunga. 
Specimens are always found on the ground, never on the 
under side of their shelter. When first uncovered they usually 
remain quite still for a time before attempting to hide. Some- 
times a burrow is found under the shelter. In this case the Labo- 
chirus usually sits facing it, and disappears down it as soon as 
any attempt at capture is made. In other cases any burrow there 
is must be throughout its length in contact with the shelter. 
In dry weather, when Labochirus proboscideus is difficult to 
obtain, it presumably burrows till it reaches soil that it finds 
comfortably moist and then remains there. If unable to find 
moisture it dies in a few days; and I found it impossible to keep 
this species in captivity for any length of time unless the floor of 
its cage was kept covered with moist soil, when no difficulty was 
experienced. 
Both sexes construct burrows in which to live, digging the 
soil away with their second pair of appendages. As the excava- 
tion deepens they enter it head first, collect some soil between 
the second appendages, and then back out and deposit it at a 
little distance from the entrance. ‘The tibial apophyses seem to 
enable them to carry more soil than would otherwise be possible. 
Of two very young (probably one year old) specimens kept in 
captivity one made a U-shaped burrow with one entrance under 
cover and the other exposed; but I have not been able to recog- 
nize any other instance of this being done. 
Labochirus appears to be incapable of inflicting any injury on 
man. When irritated it usually extends its pedipalps to their 
fullest extent, and would no doubt use them in defence against 
a sufficiently small opponent; but it is a nervous creature and 
prefers retreat. It will not attack even a defenceless cockroach 
if it is very large, but will gladly kill and eat small ones. 
The stink-glands are no doubt of service in self-defence. On 
two occasions I have seen the fluid ejected as a small cloud, 
but this is rare; one of the specimens noticed was a female, the 
other was almost certainly a male but escaped capture. Accord- 
ing to Wood-Mason (Proc. A.S B., 1882, p. 60) the stink-glands are 
larger in female Thelyphonids than in males. The apertures of 
these glands are easily seen on each side of the medially situated 
caudal appendage (dorsal) and anus (ventral). If some object 
is placed near these appertures when the creature is irritated the 
drop of fluid ejected will be found upon it. It has “all the 
characteristic smell and pungency of strong acetic acid’’, but 
in this species I have never noticed any odour ‘“‘like that of 
a highly concentrated essence of pears ’’ (Wood-Mason, /.c.). 
It is almost impossible to observe the feeding habits of these 
nocturnal animals in their natural haunts; and even in captivity 
they are very shy of any light that may be brought to bear upon 
