158 
In the year 1892 Simon gives a revision of the systematic 
of the order upon his gigantic material, divides the 
order into 3 sub-families and points out characters for 
these and for the genera, altogether 8, 2 of which are 
new. He uses the number of joints in the tarsus to- 
gether with the occurrence of arolium as the character 
for the one sub-family (Charontince) and introduces a 
new character derived from the structure of the sternum 
as the chief difference between the 2 other sub-families: 
Phryniscine (ought to be written Phrynichine) and 
Tarantulin®e. The sternum offers, no doubt, so great 
differences in the 2 last groups, that it is most asto- 
nishing they have not been made use of before, but 
the description and especially the drawings of Simon 
(Pl, 2, fig. 14 and 15) are not sufficiently correct. 
Simon delineates the median plates of the sternum 
in the Tarantuline (fig. 15) as lying far apart from 
each other and the anterior very distant from the labium. 
In Admetus I have found them (Tab. II, fig. 13, a) 
almost meeting, and the anterior one reaching the basis 
of the labium; what Simon figures as the whole plate 
is a darker chitinous centre-part of the same. It will 
be easy to prove the correctness of my interpretation 
by examining an adult specimen under a magnifying- 
glass, and still more to be depended upon, when the 
sternum is cut off and examined with the light falling 
through the chitine. The 8 pairs of lateral plates are 
sharply defined from each other and from the sur- 
roundings. It may further be remarked that labium is 
narrowly triangular, but slightly dilated at the basis, 
which is a little broader than the median plates. In 
Phrynichus and Damon, the median plates (chiefly in 
Phrynichus) are broader than long (Tab. Il, fig. 14), 
the latera plates are narrower, with comparatively 
thinner chitine and much less sharply limited from the 
