400 Mr. J. Blackwall on Sicilian Spiders. 



Family Theridiid^. 

 Genus Theridion, Walck. 



Theridion pulchellum. 



Theridion jmlchellum, Walck., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt. torn. ii. p. 311 ; 



Blackw., Spiders of Gt. Britain & Ireland, p. 191, pi. 1-i. fiff. 122. 

 Theridium vittatum, Koch, Die Arachu. Band iii. p. 05, tab. 94. tig. 217 ; 



Koch, Die Arachn. Band iv. p. 118, tab. 141. fig. 326. 



Theridion par vulum^ n. sp. PL YIII. fig. 5. 



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

 thorax -^Vj breadth -^V ; breadth of the abdomen ^V j length of 

 an anterior leg -^ ; length of a leg of the third pair -V. 



The abdomen is oviform, convex above, projects over the 

 base of the cephalothorax, and is of a yellowish- white colour ; 

 a large, dentated, black band, that tapers to the spinners, and 

 is mottled anteriorly with white, extends along the middle of 

 the upper part ; on the under part there is a black spot im- 

 mediately before the spinners ; and a bar of the same hue 

 passes transversely behind the branchial opercula, which are 

 of a dark-brown colour. The cephalothorax is oval, convex, 

 glossy, with a small black indentation in the median line of 

 the posterior region, and is of a pale-brown colour. The eyes 

 are disposed on the anterior part of the cephalothorax in two 

 transverse rows ; the four intermediate ones form a square, 

 the two anterior ones, which are seated on a protuberance, 

 being the largest and darkest-coloured of the eight ; the eyes 

 of each lateral pair are placed obliquely on a minute tubercle, 

 and are contiguous. The falces are small, conical, and verti- 

 cal ; the maxillae are obliquely truncated at the extremity, on 

 the outer side, and inclined towards the lip, which is trian- 

 gular ; and the sternum is heart-shaped and glossy ; the legs 

 are slender ; the first pair is the longest, then the fourth, and 

 the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by 

 three claws ; the two superior ones are curved and pectinated, 

 and the inferior one is inflected near its base. These parts are 

 of a brownish-yellow colour, the base of the lip being the 

 darkest, and the legs the palest. The palpi are short, and 

 resemble the legs in colour ; the radial is smaller than the 

 cubital joint, and is somewhat produced on the outer side ; the 

 digital joint is oval, convex and hairy externally, concave 

 within, comprising the palpal organs, which are highly deve- 

 loped and complex in structure ; they are encircled by a black 

 filiform spine, and have a yellowish-brown hue. The convex 

 sides of the digital joints are directed towards each other. 



