442 



ARACHNIDA PHALANGIDEA 



time. The females, with their long extrusible ovipositors, place 

 groups of twenty to forty eggs in small holes in the ground or 

 under stones or bark, unprotected by any form of cocoon. The 

 eggs liatch into fully-formed Phalangids, which are at first white, 

 but attain their coloration after the first moult. They subse- 

 quently moult from five to nine times. 



The distribution of tliis group is world-wide, and some of the 

 exotic species are very remarkable in form. Only twenty-four 

 species have as yet been recorded in this country. 



External Structure. — In the Phalangidea there is no con- 

 striction between the cephalothorax and the abdomen, and in 

 the Ischyropsalidae alone is the distinction between them readily 

 observable. This is due to the partial or complete fusion of the 

 first five segments of the abdomen with the carapace or cephalo- 

 thoracic shield in most species, these segments being indicated, if 

 at all, merely by faint striae or successive transverse rows of 

 spines or tubercles. In the forms possessing hard integuments 

 (Gonyleptidae, Nemastomatidae, Trogulidae) this fusion results in 

 a dorsal " scutum," the component parts of which cannot easily be 

 distinguished. 



The cephalothorax is often surmounted by a turret — usually 

 grooved dorsally, and beset on its edges with a spiny armature — 

 on the sides of which are the two simple eyes. The position 

 and shape of this turret and the arrangement of its spines are of 

 importance in the classification of the group. 



In the Trogulidae the base of the turret gives rise to a re- 

 markable, forwardly-directed, bifurcate structure, furnished with 

 numerous strong tubular bristles. This 

 is called the " hood," and its hollowed- 

 out under surface forms a chamber, the 

 " camerostome," in which lie the basal joints 

 of the pedipalpi. 



In most European Phalangids the 

 under surface of the cephalothorax is 

 almost entirely concealed by the forwardly 

 projecting portion of the aljdomen bearing 

 the generative opening, and by the gnatho- 

 bases, not only of the pedipalpi, but of the first and sometimes 

 of the second legs. As in Spiders, however, there is always 

 present a " sternum " and generally a " labium." The sternum 



Fig. 230.— Hood of Meto- 

 poctea. (After Simon. ) 



