244 Dr. W. Kae Sherriffs on 



yellow, red-brown round the eyes ; legs similar, but banded 

 with dark brown ; abdomen dorsally dark grey, ventrally 

 lighter in front around the genital opening ; sternum pale 

 fawn and so also are the coxse. The vulva is covered by 

 a triangular hard yellow chitinous plate (epigyne), the two 

 central thick parts being brown ; scape absent. 



Locality. Madras city. 



Pocock's key to the species selected by him (cf. p. 224) is 

 based entirely on the characters of the ?,no j being men- 

 tioned in his account. A proper key will not be forthcoming 

 until the S have all been found and described. Below I 

 give a brief description of two of the males, viz. those of 

 A. rumpfi, the commonest species of South India, and 

 of A. mitratxiSj which I got on the Nilgiris. 



Description of A. rumpfi, <$ . 



Colours much as in the $ , carapace brown with yellowish 

 hairs ; legs brownish with darker annulations ; sternum light 

 yellow ; abdomen dorsally varied with light and dark grey 

 marks to form a median light band with a darker band on 

 each side tapering at the tip behind ; front and sides of abdo- 

 men light yellow or grey ; abdomen ventrally pale yellow 

 with darker spots at. the centre and at the spinnerets. Only 

 the coxse of the first legs have the small red-brown apophyses, 

 which are incurved. The tibiae of tjie second pair of legs 

 are armed with small spines as usual. 



The male is not so much smaller than the female 

 (10-15 mm.), for it measures 8 mm., the carapace being as 

 long as the abdomen. 



Description of A. mitratus, <$ . 



It greatly resembles the female in general form and colour, 

 but is smaller ( $ 7 mm. long, <$ 3 mm.). Both have a 

 conspicuous white St. Andrew's cross at the front end of the 

 abdomen dorsally between the shoulder points, and on the 

 ventral side of the abdomen there is a median rectangular 

 black area bordered by lighter lines and ending in a pair of 

 light spots on each side just in front of the spinnerets. The 

 male examined was immature. 



Gasteracantha (Suncl.), 1833. 

 61. Gasteracantha brevispina (Dol.). 



A very pretty, dainty, small spider on a large web at its 

 oentre without any stabilimentum. The young are only 



