new Gi'ttfiui ntiil Sf/ccif's ot Jiriti'sh SpifJcra. 00 



away in the presence of individual instability, and even 

 •generic barriers are broken down by a hopeless want of 

 uniformity and exclusivcness in the distinguishing characters, 

 yet 1 cannot go quite so far as to agree with Mr. Campbell 

 on the advisability, in this particular case, of uniting all these 

 apparent varieties under one name, errans^ Bl. 



He says* : " The oblong form of L. oblonga, Cb., is found 

 with the typical eyes of L. erratis, Bl., and the more ovate 

 form of errans with the typical eyes of oblotija." 



After careful comparison I am not able entirely to confirm 

 this ; in all probability the oblongation of form, or otherwise, 

 is due in some measure to the state of the ovaries and liver 

 at the time ; and in all cases where there seems to be this 

 cross-characterization I find that the falling away of the 

 tissues from the skeleton will fully account for the apparently 

 greater separation of the eyes in the ''more ovate " forms. 



One single specimen, however, an adult female, certainly 

 exhibits this ovate form, coupled with eyes distinctly wider 

 apart than those of the typical errans ; but these characters 

 are supplemented by a greater height of clypeus than exists 

 in either oblonga or errans ; and I have therefore deemed it 

 advisable to describe it as a distinct species, P. GampbeUiij 

 rather than regard it as a link enabling us to unite the three 

 forms as a single species under the name errans, as Mr. 

 Campbell has suggested. 



The species may be conveniently distinguished as fol- 

 lows : — 



Porrhomma. 



Males. 



A. Femora without any spines. 



i. Radial joint produced into a large concave, 



curved process, directed over the base of 



the digital joint P. montiyena, Sim. 



ii. Radial joint not produced P. adipatum, L. K. 



B. Femora i. and ii. with one or more spines, 

 i. Metatarsi without any spines. 



a. Anterior- row of eyes straight; eyes 



larger. (Femora i. with two spines, 



ii. with one about the middle.) 



a*. Clypeus not higher than the ocular 



area. 



1. Central anteriors decidedly smaller 



than laterals, distant from them 



almost two diameters P. Meadii, P\ Cb. 



{L. decens, Cb.) 

 {L.microphthalma, Cb.) 

 (i, incerta, Cb.) 



* " Spiders of Hertfordshire," Trans. Hert. Nat. Hist. Soc. vol. ii. pt. 7, 

 1883, p. 269. 



7* 



