THELYPHONUS. ARACHNIDES. 193 



FAMILY II. TARENTUL.E. 



Abdomen pedunculated, with two spiracles on each side below, 

 and terminated in some by a jointed filament, without sting ; 

 palpi in the form of arms, and spinous at their extremity ; 

 mandibles monodactyle ; anterior feet longest, terminated by 

 a setaceous tarsus ; tongue long, linear, and dart-shaped. 

 Gen. 2. THELYPHONUS, Lat. Tarantula, Fab. 



Two palpi in the form of arms, shorter than the feet, and termi- 

 nated in forceps ; mandibles scaly ; eight eyes ; body oblong ; 

 thorax oval ; abdomen annulated, terminated posteriorly by 

 a jointed seta ; eight feet. 



T. proscorpio, Lat. (Phalangium caudatum, Lin.) Inhabits India. 

 Lat. Gen. i. 130. 



Gen. 3. PHRYNUS, Lat. Tarantula, Fab. 

 Two long spinous palpi, unguiculated at their summit ; mandi- 

 bles short, straight, didactyle ; lower lip projecting, forked at 

 the point ; eight eyes ; body oblong, depressed ; thorax reni- 

 form ; abdomen almost pedunculated ; eight feet, the anterior 

 two filiform. 



P. remformis, Lat. Palpi the length of the body, the second and 

 third joint compressed and internally spinous. Inhabits South 

 America. Lat. Gen. i. 129. 



P. lunatus, Lat. Palpi nearly three times the length of the body ; 

 apex of the third joint with four spines, the two upper ones 

 strongest. Inhabits India. Lat. Gen. i. 128. 



SECTION II. ARANEIDES. 



Palpi in the form of small feet, terminated by a little hook, the 

 last joint bearing the sexual organs in the male ; four to six 

 web-spinning mamillae situate near the anus, and in both sexes. 



The body of the Araneides is composed of two principal parts ; first, of an inar- 

 ticulate thorax from which the head is distinct, bearing from six to eight smooth and 

 immoveable eyes, the organs of manducation, and eight feet ; and secondly, an abdo- 

 men, fixed to the posterior extremity of the trunk by a small filament, generally soft, 

 without segments, and with from four to six mamillae, exterior, and placed near the 

 anus. The body is crustaceous, cordiform, or in the form of an ovoid, truncated 

 before, with a triangular space in front, corresponding to the head, and upon which 

 the eyes are placed. The organs of manducation occupy the anterior inferior ex- 

 tremity of the thorax, and consist of two mandibles, two palpi, a lip, and a kind of 

 epiglottis or interior tongue. The mandibles are composed of two tubular joints, 

 the terminal one solid, in the form of a pointed hook, and folding against the other 

 joint in repose. This hook has at its extremity a minute cleft for the passage of a 

 poisonous fluid, which is conducted to it by a canal from the reservoir at the base of 

 the first joint The feet are of various size, according to the habits or the sex of the 

 animal. The spinous Epeirce are the only species which have the abdomen co- 

 vered with a crustaceous or solid epidermis. In all the others this part of the body 

 is soft, and without appearance of division. The intestinal canal is narrow with 

 dilatations at intervals, and composed of many sacs. The vessels for spinning, 

 generally to the number of six, extend along the interior on each side and ter- 

 minate in mamillae. From these mamillse are extracted the minute threads with 

 which the spiders form their webs for the capture of their prey, and the silky matter 



VOL. II. N 



