404 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol. XXII, 



of a fuU-grovvn spider. The two doors open outwards, as in the 

 nest of spiders of the g&nns Sason (Pocock, 1900, p. 173 ; Gravely, 

 1915 a, p. 265 and b, p. 533), but are separated W a space equal 

 to their own diameter, or even more, instead of being hinged 

 together as in that genus, the chamber being deeper and more 

 like a curved tube (compare figs. 10 and 11 of pi. xviii). 



Sasonichus arthrapophysis, Gravely. 

 PI. xviii, fig. 12. 



Sasonicliiis aithynpophysis, Ciravfly. 19150, pp- 2I14-5. 



A moderately large dark brown spider with reddish femora. 

 The male with tibiae adorned distally by whitish hairs, whicli 

 lose their characteristic appearance at once when put into spirit. 

 The nest is constructed among stones and more or less loose soil 

 and rubbish among the roots of Banyans, Pipals, etc. It consists 

 of a short and almost straight tube somewhat swollen in the mid- 

 dle and closed at each end by a trap-door v^'hich is always hinged 

 on the lower side, so that it hangs open when not held in place by 

 the spider. Emptj' nests are thus somewhat conspicuous objects, 

 the whitish lining of the trap-door contrasting with the mouth of 

 the dark burrow above it. The trap-door of a full grown spider is 

 about 10 mm. in diameter. Males were obtained in August, but 

 not later. 



9 . The female has not yet been described. The single spirit 

 specimen at present before me is slighth- under 20 mm. in length ; 

 it is probably mature, but the abdomen is frequently much more 

 distended than in this specimen. Its carapace is about 8 mm. 

 long by 6 mm. wide. In spirit specimens the carapace, chelicerae 

 (except the extreme base), last three joints of the palps and last 

 four joints of the legs are of a dull sepia tint somewhat paler than 

 the blacker abdomen and darker than the spinnerettes. In life 

 all these parts are practicallj' black. The sternum, coxae, tro- 

 chanters and femora are ochraceous in spirit, reddish in life, 

 except for a brownish dorsal line on the femora, which expands 

 across the whole dorsal surface distally. The ocular tubercle is 

 yellowish in the spirit specimen before me, but black like the rest 

 of the carapace in the living one. The eyes resemble those of the 

 male. The carapace is relatively somewhat narrower and more 

 elevated than in the male, and the legs are somewhat less slender. 



Family Theraphosidae. 



Plesiophrictus sp. 



This species, like others of the group of genera to which it 

 belongs (Gravely, 1915 h, p. 533), appears to make no burrow. It 

 lives among loose soil and stones at the base of Ficus trees. It is 

 not common and in the absence of mature males it cannot i^e 

 described satisfactorilv. 



