CHAPTER XIX. 



KEY TO FAMILIES OF SPIDERS. ADAPTED FROM 



EMERTON. 



Drassidae. Tube weavers; spin no webs, but make 

 nests in form of flattened bag or tube; seek prey on 

 ground among leaves and grass. Body usually two or 

 three times as long as wide; somewhat flattened on back. 

 Legs about equal in length, two pairs forward and two 

 pairs backward, velvety; hairs and spines short; feet with 

 two claws with a brush of flat hairs; mandibles together 

 as wide as head. Eyes eight, about equal in size, in two 

 rows of about equal length and not far apart. Colors 

 dull gray, brown, or black; few markings or none. 

 A few species are brightly marked, and there are some 

 slight differences in the different species in the arrange- 

 ment of the eyes. 



Dysderidse. Eyes six. Four breathing holes in the 

 front of the abdomen. Appearance otherwise like 

 Drassidae. 



Thomisidae. Crab spiders; flat, short-bodied, much 

 wider in the abdomen. Travel side wise, look like crabs. 

 First and second legs often much longer than third and 

 fourth; all extend sidewise from the body. Feet with 

 two claws and thick brush. Body smooth or covered 

 with very fine, soft hair ; coarser hairs sometimes scattered 

 over back areas. Eyes small, in two curved rows, upper 

 row the longer. Mandibles small, narrowed at the end. 



Attidae. Jumping spiders; live in open places among 



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