522 Records of the Indian. Museum. [VoL. XI, 
With regard to the breeding habits of this species my infor- 
mation is of the scantiest, but I believe, from the evidence of 
dissections, that the time for egg-laying was rapidly approaching 
when I left Ceylon in August. The young appear to attain a 
length of about r cm. (exclusive of the tail) during the summer 
after they are hatched, and to take two years more to come to 
maturity ; but the evidence for this is not so extensive as in the 
case of Charinides and Phrynichus (see below, pp. 531-532). 
It was not until August! of last year that I saw the courtship 
““dance’”’ of a whip-scorpion. The specimens concerned were a 
pair of Thelyphonus sepiaris which I caught in Orissa and brought 
back with several others alive to Calcutta. Their positions, when 
I first noticed what was going on, were those described by Fischer 
(J.B.N.H.S., XX, pp. 888-9). They are shown in pl. xxiv, fig. 25. 
The left antenniform leg of the female was crossed above the right, 
and about three joints of the tarsus of each of these legs were left 
exposed by the chelicerae of the male. The pair walked slowly 
round the cage in which they were confined, the male going back- 
wards and the female following him. Once or twice they passed 
an unattached male, when the mated male left go his hold of the 
antenniform leg of the female on the side next the possible rival 
and seemed to prepare for defence. But none was needed. 
Soon this type of ‘“‘dance” ceased, the female raised her 
abdomen in the air, and the male commenced stroking her genital 
segment with his antenniform legs. These legs usually passed 
between the third and fourth legs of the female but sometimes 
behind the fourth; their tips were usually crossed, the right being 
above the left as a rule. The chelae of the male were held open 
and were kept slightly moving over the dorsal surface of the 
abdomen (pl. xxiv, fig. 26). 
I expected this to lead up to the culminating action. But 
the female was a small one, and her genital segment was not fully 
developed. Probably she was immature. For this reason, per- 
haps, the first type of ‘‘ dance’’ was soon resumed and continued 
till I went to bed. It was in progress at about 7 A.M. next day, 
but ceased soon afterwards. Next night it was repeated. After 
that the female died. 
Thelyphonus sepiaris is much better able to withstand draught 
than is Labochirus proboscideus. It lives in much drier situations, 
and will live in a dry cage without water for several weeks at 
least, without apparent discomfort. It seems, too, to be of a 
somewhat less timid disposition. Green (Spolia Zeylanica, IV, 
p. 181) says that it emits an odour resembling strong acetic acid. 
The defensive odours of the Thelyphonids I have met with vary 
in character from this to something closely resembling essence of 
' Mr. Fischer informs me that his observations (see above, p. 519) were 
made after dusk in June. Rain had fallen and brought out the Thelyphonids, 
which climbed about his tent. The dance took place on his writing table in the 
tent. 
