346 Mr. J. Blackvvall on new Species of Araneidea 



furrows converging towards a transverse pair of indentations in 

 the medial line of the posterior region, and has two small, coni- 

 cal, glossy eminences placed transversely near its middle, and 

 numerous very minute ones on its lateral margins ; it is of a 

 very dark brown colour, which is almost concealed by a covering 

 of short, adpressed white hairs having a silvery lustre. The falces 

 are powerful, conical, vertical, glossy, and armed with teeth on 

 the inner surface ; the maxillae are short, strong, and greatly 

 enlarged and rounded at the extremity ; and the lip is somewhat 

 oval. These parts are of a dark-brown colour, the falces being 

 much the darkest; the maxillae have a yellow-brown hue at their 

 extremity, on the inner surface, and the lip is marked with a 

 longitudinal yellow band, which is contracted in the middle. 

 The sternum is heart-shaped and glossy, with prominences on 

 the sides and a pointed one opposite to the base of the lip ; it is 

 of a bright-yellow colour. The abdomen is subcylindrical, pro- 

 jecting over the base of the cephalothorax, and its posterior ex- 

 tremity, which is rounded, extends a little beyond the spinners ; 

 it is of a yellow-brown colour, reticulated and spotted with pale 

 dull-yellow on the upper part and sides, the anterior extremity 

 being the yellowest ; many of the spots, which vary in size and 

 form, are covered with white hairs having a silvery lustre; a 

 series of three depressed spots occurs on each side of the medial 

 line, and on its posterior half four fine lines are disposed longi- 

 tudinally ; these spots and lines have a brown hue, and two 

 large irregular spots of a darker brown are situated on the lower 

 part of each side ; the under part is of an olive-brown colour, 

 with four slightly curved, pale-yellow lines, which describe a 

 quadrilateral figure in the middle ; the spinners and the branchial 

 opercula are of a brown colour, the inner margin of the latter 

 having a dull-yellow hue; the sexual organs are well developed, 

 with a longitudinal septum in the middle, and the anterior mar- 

 gin presents two prominent, glossy convexities; their colour is 

 dark-brown tinged with red. 



Two adult females of Nephila venusta were included in the 

 collection. 



Genus Argyopes, Savigny. 

 Argyopes caudatus. 

 Length of the female l t \ inch ; length of the cephalothorax f, 

 breadth } ; breadth of the abdomen -^ ; length of an anterior 

 leg 2; length of a leg of the third pair 1-pL. 



The abdomen is large, and of a depressed oviform figure ; its 

 anterior extremity, which has the appearance of having been 

 cut directly across, projects over the base of the cephalothorax, 

 and its posterior extremity extends greatly beyond the spinners; 



