

33G Mr. J. Blackwall on new Species of Araneidea 



XL. — Descriptions of recently discovered Species, and Characters 

 of a new Genus, of Araneidea from the East of Central Africa. 

 By John Blackwall, F.L.S. 



The Spiders described in the following pages were captured in 

 the region through which the river Shire flows to its confluence 

 with the Zambesi, by Mr. Horace Waller, at the particular request 

 of Mr. Richard Thornton, made shortly before he fell a victim 

 to the climate of Africa. These specimens were comprised in a 

 collection of Araneidea forwarded by the relatives of Mr. Thornton 

 to my friend Mr. Meade, who transmitted it to me for the pur- 

 pose of having its contents examined and descriptions made of 

 such species as might appear to be new to arachnologists, being 

 prevented himself from bestowing the requisite time on the 

 undertaking, for which he is so well qualified, by his numerous 

 professional engagements. 



The late Mr. R. Thornton accompanied Dr. Livingstone in his 

 last expedition to South Africa, in the capacity of geologist ; and 

 Mr. H. Waller held the appointment of lay superintendent of 

 the mission to the Zambesi. 



Tribe Octonoculina. 



Family Lycosid^e. 



Genus Ctenus, Walck. 



Ctenus velox. 



Length of the female T Vths of an inch ; length of the cephalo- 

 thorax \, breadth \ ; breadth of the abdomen ± ; length of a 

 posterior leg l^V ; length of a leg of the third pair -fib 



The eyes are disposed on the anterior part of the cephalothorax 

 in three transverse rows ; the two anterior ones, with the two 

 intermediate ones of the four constituting the second row, de- 

 scribe a trapezoid whose shortest side is before; and each of the 

 two eyes forming the posterior row, with a lateral one of the 

 second row, is seated on a tubercle ; the intermediate eyes of the 

 second row are the largest, and the lateral ones, which are in a 

 line with them, much the smallest of the eight. The cephalo- 

 thorax is truncated in front, compressed before, and rounded on 

 the sides, which are depressed and marked with furrows con- 

 verging towards a narrow indentation in the medial line of the 

 posterior region ; it is clothed with short, dull-yellowish hairs, 

 and is of a reddish-brown colour, with narrow, dark-brown 

 lateral margins, parallel to which a broad, rather obscure, yel- 

 lowish-brown band, having its superior margin somewhat den- 

 tated, extends along each side ; a narrow, pale red-brown band 

 passes from between the posterior pair of eyes to its base, and 



