256 Mr. J. Blackwall on new species of Madeiran Spiders. 



Clubiona decora. 



Length of the female ^ ths of an inch ; length of the cephalo- 

 thorax y 1 ^, breadth y 1 ^ ; breadth of the abdomen y 1 ^ ; length of 

 a posterior leg 5 ; length of a leg of the third pair ^V 



The cephalothorax is oval, thinly clothed with hairs, convex, 

 glossy, with a slight, narrow indentation in the medial line, and 

 is of a brownish-yellow colour. The eyes are disposed in two 

 transverse rows on the anterior part of the cephalothorax, and 

 are nearly equal in size ; the anterior row, which is the shorter, 

 is situated immediately above the frontal margin, and the two 

 intermediate eyes of the posterior row are wider apart than they 

 are from the lateral eyes of the same row. The falces are 

 powerful, conical, and rather prominent : the maxillae are straight, 

 and greatly enlarged and rounded at the extremity : the lip is 

 long, truncated and slightly hollowed at the apex, and its sides 

 are nearly parallel. These organs have a red-brown hue, the 

 maxillae being the palest. The sternum is oval, with small 

 eminences on the sides, opposite to the legs : the legs are mo- 

 derately long, and are provided with hairs and sessile spines; 

 the fourth pair is the longest, then the second, and the first 

 and third pairs are equal in length ; each tarsus is terminated 

 by two curved, minutely pectinated claws, and below them there 

 is a small scopula. These parts, with the palpi, which are short, 

 have a pale, dull yellowish hue. The abdomen is of an oblong 

 oviform figure, moderately convex above, and projects very little 

 over the base of the cephalothorax; it is clothed with fine, silky, 

 whitish hairs, and of a yellow-white colour; a band extends 

 from the anterior extremity of the upper part, along the middle, 

 fully one-third of its length, and is succeeded by a row of minute 

 spots, which terminates at the coccyx ; on each side of the pos- 

 terior part there is a large patch composed of confluent oblique 

 streaks, and there are two minute spots on each side of the 

 spinners, and two below them ; the band, spots, and patches are 

 of a dark-brown colour ; the sexual organs are moderately deve- 

 loped, and have a red-brown hue. 



The male is smaller than the female, but the colours and the 

 design formed by their distribution are similar in both sexes. 

 The radial joint of the palpi is rather larger than the cubital 

 joint, and projects a pointed apophysis from its extremity, on 

 the outer side ; the digital joint is oval, convex and hairy exter- 

 nally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs ; these organs 

 are moderately developed, not very complex in structure, with a 

 black filiform spine which, originating near the middle of their 

 inner side, curves round their extremity to the outer side, and 

 are of a red-brown colour. 



