Liberia <*- 



adjacent parts of West Africa, can boast of possessing the largest 

 scorpion in the world — Pandinus imperator — which exhibits a 

 good deal of greenish blue in its coloration. It is a very large 

 size — sometimes nearly six inches long — and can of course 

 inflict a terrible sting. This scorpion and its allies possess a 

 sound-producing organ between the inner base of the big claws 

 and the joint of the first leg. The stridulating of this produces 

 a distinct and ominous hissing sound, which the scorpion uses as 

 a warning towards enemies bigger than himself. This large 

 bluish black and bufF-yellow scorpion frequents the dense forests. 

 In the more open cultivated regions there are smaller reddish 

 yellow scorpions not yet identified. The Whip scorpions are 

 represented by Titanodamen bassamensis, which is akin to the 

 very large T. johnstoni, discovered twenty years ago in the 

 Cameroons by the present writer. 



Amongst Spiders, a large and hairy Mygalomorph 

 {^Scodra brachypodd) is frequently met with. This creature can 

 give a very poisonous bite, but every effort should be made to 

 explain to the Liberians, natives and Europeans, that these 

 hairy mygaloid spiders perform valuable services in destroying 

 cockroaches and other noisome insects. They do no harm what- 

 ever to humanity unless interfered with, and should certainly 

 receive some degree of protection. Targe scarlet or yellow and 

 black spiders of the genera Nefhila (^Epeira) build coarse webs 

 of drab or yellow colour very like floss silk. These hang loosely 

 from bush to bush, and are most disagreeable obstacles to the 

 pioneer who is forcing his way through the undergrowth. He 

 may suddenly find himself enveloped in a hideous sticky veil of 

 coarse spider's web in which are strewn the mummified bodies 

 of flies and other insects. 



A species of Aran<£thra is a very conspicuous arachnid, 

 though not large. It has a carapace like a crab, and this is a 



844 



