THE FALSE SCORPIONS 3203 



but those of the first pair have only a single minute claw. On the basal segments 

 of the last pair are certain racket- shaped organs, termed malleoli ; and behind those 

 of the second pair open a couple of large stigmata, leading into additional breathing 

 tubes. The mouth is situated at the tip of a long horny beak, projecting forward 

 between the mandibles. The males are smaller and lighter than the females, but 

 have more powerful and longer legs and palpi. Their mandibles, however, are 

 much weaker, and are furnished above with a sensory organ called the flagellum. 

 In both sexes the mandibles are supplied on their inner adjacent surface with a set 

 of ridges, which give rise to a grating sound when rubbed together. Both in 

 Europe, Africa, and America, the Solifugce closely follow the scorpions in their dis- 

 tribution, ranging in America from the Southern States of the Union southward 

 into Chili, and being found over the whole of Africa; none, however, have been 

 recorded from Madagascar. In Europe they occur in Spain, Greece, and South. 

 Russia, being abundant and of large size in the steppes of the latter country. 

 Thence they spread southward and eastward over the desert countries of South- 

 western Asia and India; but to the east of this point they become gradually scarcer, 

 and although species have been discovered in Siam and the Moluccas, the group 

 appears to be unrepresented in Australia and New Zealand. No extinct members 

 have been described. 



The order contains but a single family Sotyugidce, divisible into several well- 

 marked genera, differing from each other in a number of structural characteristics. 

 The largest members of the group belong to the genus Solpuga, confined to South 

 Africa, and to Galeodes, which occurs in great numbers in Persia, Arabia, Egypt, 

 and South Russia. Another well-known form is Rhax, having the same range as 

 Galeodes, but being a smaller and shorter-legged type. In habits the false spiders 

 are both diurnal and nocturnal; specimens of Galeodes and Rhax roam about 

 deserts at night, and, attracted by the light, make their way into the tents ef trav- 

 elers, while at other times they may be met with darting about in the blazing mid- 

 day sun. Most species of Solpugidce are extremely active, running with great 

 speed; but those of Rhax which have enormous* mandibles and short thick legs 

 are slow movers, and it is probable that the equally short-legged South- African 

 Hexisopus is also relatively sluggish. When on the prowl, these creatures carry 

 the body raised high on the posterior six legs, those of the first pair and the palpi 

 being lifted up and waved in the air to feel the way, while the movements of the 

 head from side to side bear witness to their eagerness to discover prey. Many 

 stories are told of the courage and voracity of these animals. Their food seems to 

 consist mostly of beetles and other insects; but they will not hesitate to attack such 

 redoubtable adversaries as scorpions. 



THE FALSE SCORPIONS Order PSEUDOSCORPIONES 



The false scorpions are all of minute size, the largest not exceeding a quarter 

 of an inch in length. They owe their name to the fact that, as in the true scorpions, 

 the appendages of the second pair are of enormous size as compared with the body, 



