ON EUROPEAN SPIDERS. 53 
Genus 2. EPEIRA (WALCK.). 1805. 
Deriv. unknown ?). 
Syn.: + 1804. Aranea Larr., ir Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., XXIV, p. 135 (ad partem). 
1805. Epeira Warck., Tabl. d. Aran., p. 53 (ad partem). 
1837. Miranda C. Koch, Uebers. d. Arachn.-Syst., 1, p. 4 (ad max. part.). 
1837. Epeira ID., ibid. p. 1. 
1837. Atea ID., ibid., p. 3. 
1861. Epeira WESRTR., Aran. Suec., p. 20 (ad max. part.). 
1864. a Brackw., Spid. of Gr. Brit., II, p. 323 (ad max. part.). 
1864. 5 Srw., Hist. Nat. d. Araignées, p. 259 (ad maz. part.). 
Type: Epeira diademata (CLERCK). 
Among modern authors only LUCAS, BLACKWALL, VINSON and a few 
others have preserved WALCKENAER'S genus Æpeira (= Aranea LATR. 1804) 
undivided. Separate groups of species have from time to time been taken 
from it, and formed into partieular genera, and although several of these 
(especially those formed by C. KocH) are very imperfectly characterized, 
they have yet, though often with modified limits, been more or less gene- 
rally accepted. The greater part of the species included by KocH in his genera 
Miranda and Atea we refer to Æpeira strictly so called: his Meta, Zilla 
and Singa (with the limits assigned to the two first by WESTRING and to 
the last by MENGE and ourselves) may on the other hand be suffered to 
retain their place as independent genera. The determination of Kpeira 
sensu strictiori given by us in Ree. erit. (p. 106) has been adopted by 
WESTRING (loc. cit); we now however think that JE. conica were better se- 
parated from Æpeira and referred to a separate genus, Cyrtophora (SIM.). 
SIMON'S view of the genus Zpeira agrees with that of WESTRING, except 
that, in conformity with Kocx, he reckons JE. conica to Singa. He moreo- 
ver divides Epeira into three sub-genera, Miranda, Atea and Epeira, and 
this last sub-genus he farther divides into six "groups", Nyctinea f Nuctenea], 
Eriophora, Neoschena [Neoscona], Neopora, Epeira and Cyrtophora, most 
of which appear to be even more unnecessary and still worse defined than 
1) In AaassiZ Nomencl. Zool. it is derived from ”Erretoouer, examinor”, a deriva- 
tion which appears to me destitute of all grounds. According to Simon, Æpeira comes 
from ”Erreiow, faire un tissu", which verb I have not been able to find in any Greek 
Lexicon to which I have access. — May not the name perhaps be formed of £z, on, 
and eioos, wool (with reference to the circumstance of the female's being usually 
found, after laying her eggs, sitting beside or upon the wool-like cocoon)? — As 
however all this is but conjecture, I have not ventured, like EnrcHsoN and SCHIÖDTE, 
to change the received orthography Epeira into Epira. 
