Genera and Species of Araneidea. 171 



ocular tubercle is strongly suffused with black : the three eyes 

 which form each lateral curved row are nearly equal in size, 

 irregular in form, and separated from each other by about half 

 of an eye's diameter ; the two hinder eyes of these rows are 

 further from each other than the two front ones ; those of the 

 central pair are the largest of the eight and round, separated from 

 each other by about half a diameter's space, and forming with 

 the middle eye of each of the lateral rows a straight, trans- 

 verse, equally divided line. 



The palpi are strong, moderately long, and furnished with 

 short hairs : the cubital and radial joints are very short, the 

 latter devoid of projection or apophysis : the digital joint is 

 oval, bent, and of inordinate size, length, and tumidity, almost 

 equalling in length the whole of the rest of the palpus. The 

 palpal organs are simple, resembling in their character those 

 of the Theraphosides and Dysderides ; they consist of a largish 

 oval bulb, produced at its extremity, on the outer side, into a 

 very long, strong, contorted apophysis, with two more slender, 

 spine-like, sharp-pointed projections at its extremity, the larger 

 one being bifid, or rather, perhaps, furnished with another spine 

 towards its termination. 



The falces are weak, straight, and rather projecting forwards ; 

 they have a pale prominence on their inner sides near their 

 extremities ; the fangs are not very long nor strong, except 

 near their base, a little way from which they become abruptly 

 weaker. 



The maxillce and labium have been sufficiently described 

 above among the generic characters. 



The sternum is large, and short-oval in form, truncate 

 before, pointed behind ; its surface appears to be thickly 

 covered with small pock-marks or shallow punctures. 



The abdomen is of an elongate-oval, somewhat subcylin- 

 drical form, and is thinly but uniformly clothed with short 

 dark hairs : the four spiracular openings and six spinners 

 have already been described above. 



The genital aperture in the female is scarcely perceptible ; 

 but in the male it is of a deep black red-brown colour. In 

 colours and other general respects the female resembles the 

 male ; the digital joint of the palpus in the female is long, 

 thickly clothed with hairs, and devoid of any terminal claw ; 

 the maxilhe are less impressed transversely than in the male. 



Adults of both sexes of this very interesting spider were 

 received in 1873 from Natal. It furnishes the type of a 

 distinct family, which appears to connect the Theraphosides 

 and Dysderides, and has also strong affinities with the Fili- 

 statides. 



12* 



