452 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINOWORK. 



states that they arc extra-European, many belonging to tropical and tem- 

 perate climes. Dr. G. Mayr thinks the amber ants have few relations 

 with ants of tropical Africa and America. 



IV. 



It may be remarked, in this connection, that a comparison of the fossil 

 spiders of Europe with those of Florissant shows, on the whole, a general 

 correspondence between the two fauna. The same families are 

 Europe represented in the stratified deposits of Europe and America; and 

 ^ nc the correspondence holds good, to a considerable extent, as to the 



amber species. Among Orbweavers this correspondence is not so 

 close, but obtains if we confine the comparison to families, and is true in 

 a measure of the genus Epeira and its near allies. Of the Oeningen spi- 

 ders one is an Epeira. From the Brown-coal the Gea of Von Heyden 1 

 is an Epeira also, according to Thorell. 2 Of the Amber species, 3 Grrea 

 Thor. (Gea Koch and Berendt), and Antopia (Menge) are near Epeira; Siga 



(Menge) is near Zilla. All of 

 these belong with the family 

 Epeirnue. Androgeus (Koch 

 and Ber.) alone probably be- 

 longs to another family, the 

 Uloborina?. Scudder divides 

 the Orbweaving species of Flor- 

 issant among four genera, Epc- 

 FI<;. 373. FIG. 374. i ra > Tethneus (new), Nephila, 



Fossil spiders from the amber. (After Berendt.*) an( l Tetl'agliatlia, all EpeirilUe. 



FIG. 372. Gea eneiroidea. FIG. 373. Androgeus militaris; male. 



Thus all the Orbweavers in 



both continents, with the exception of Androgeus (if Androgeus be, indeed, 

 an Orbweaver), belong to the same family Epeirinse, and most of them to 

 Epeira and closely related genera. 



The above comparison also shows a close resemblance between existing 

 spider fauna and that of the Tertiary both of Europe and America. For 

 example, the Orbweaving genera Epeira, Zilla, Tetragnatha, and 

 _! Nephila are now common to both hemispheres, are all found in 



Fauna ^ ie United States, and the first three abundant. We si ion Id con- 

 sider, moreover, how closely related the remaining fossil genera 

 are to these and other existing ones. Tethneus, Gea, Grcea, and Antopia 

 (Epeira), Siga (Zilla), and Androgeus (Uloborus) can, in this view, scarcely 

 be said with confidence to cliff er from existing Orbweaving genera. The 



1 I'ali'onlnL.'rapbira, J!eitraj.'e zur Naturiiescliirbte der Vorwelt, Band VIII. "Fnssilr 

 hiH-ktrn aus der libeinisrlien I'raun-kohle," von C. von Heyden. Taf. I., Fi<_'- 11, page 2. 

 (ica krant/,i 1 level. Fnndort: Hott, Siininilung Krantz. 2 Kun>i>ean Spiders, patre 2'23. 



3 Ibid. 4 Op. cit. below, Tab. 111., Figs. 12, 17. 



