captured in Rio Janeiro. 425 



curved, minutely pectinated claws, below which a small scopula 

 is situated; and the palpi have a curved, slightly pectinated 

 claw at their extremity ; the cephalothorax is compressed before, 

 truncated in front, greatly rounded on the sides, convex, and 

 glossy, with a narrow longitudinal indentation in the medial 

 line ; the falces are powerful, subcorneal, vertical, and armed 

 with teeth on the inner surface; the maxillse are short, straight, 

 convex near the base, and rounded at the extremity ; and the 

 sternum is heart-shaped. These parts are of a pale yellowish 

 colour, the sternum being the palest. The lip is somewhat 

 quadrate, rather broader than long, and has a brownish-black 

 hue. The eyes are seated on black spots, and are disposed on 

 the anterior part of the cephalothorax in two transverse straight 

 rows ; they are nearly equal in size, and those constituting the 

 anterior row, which is the shorter, are situated immediately 

 above the frontal margin. The abdomen is oviform, convex 

 above, thinly clothed with hairs, and of a dull yellow-brown 

 colour, with numerous minute yellowish -white spots, a broad 

 space occupying the entire medial line of the under part, and a 

 band extending from the anterior extremity of the upper part 

 nearly half its length, being devoid of spots ; to this band suc- 

 ceeds a large oval space, comprising numerous yellowish-white 

 spots which extend about two-thirds of its length along the 

 middle, and two parallel reddish-brown spots near its extremity. 

 This Sparassus, though the specimen described was immature, 

 is a distinct and well-marked species. 



Family Drassidje. 



Genus Drassus, Walck. 



Drassus insignis. 



Length of the male ^ an inch; length of the cephalo- 

 thorax \ ; breadth J- ; breadth of the abdomen ^ ') length of a 

 posterior leg \± ; length of a leg of the third pair f . 



The eyes are disposed on the anterior part of the cephalo- 

 thorax in two transverse curved rows having their convexity 

 directed backwards ; the posterior row is longer and more curved 

 than the anterior row, which is situated near the frontal margin ; 

 the eyes of each lateral pair are seated on a tubercle, but are 

 separated by a moderate space, and the four intermediate ones 

 nearly form a square, the two anterior ones being much the 

 largest of the eight. The cephalothorax is compressed before, 

 rounded on the sides, convex, with a narrow longitudinal in- 

 dentation in the medial line, and is densely clothed with short, 

 yellowish-grey hairs ; it is of a reddish-brown colour, the ante- 

 rior part being much the darkest, and has narrow, brownish- 



