ARANEIDA. 823 



pectinated claws ; chelicerae usually narrow. The group is an enormous 

 one and with few exceptions it consists of sedentary spiders which capture 

 their prey not by running after them but by snaring them in webs. The 

 webs are never orbicular but consist of an irregular webbing in the middle 

 of which they hang with their ventral surface uppermost and escape their 

 enemies by suddenly dropping down without making a thread. Some of 

 them live semi-parasitically in the webs of other species. The cocoons are 

 numerous and mostly rounded and silky.. Simon divides the family into 

 18 groups : i. Synotaxeae with Synotaxus from S. America. ii. Argyro- 

 deae semi-parasitic with greatly elongated abdomen, Argyrodes and 

 Rhomphaea both tropical and sub-tropical. iii. Hetschkieae, Hetschkia 

 Brazil, Mecynidis Transvaal, iv. Propostireae, a single genus, Propostira, 

 from Ceylon. v. Moneteae, again a single genus, Moneta from India and 

 Africa, vi. Spinthareae, Spintharus. vii. Episineae, Episinus with a 

 Britisli species and widely distributed, Janulus America and the Indies, 

 viii. Oeteae, Oeta Ceylon. ix. Euryopeae, Euryopis widely distributed, 

 x. Sedasteae, the only genus Sedasta is African, xi. Theridieae, Theridion 

 with over 300 species, 17 of which are British, the commonest T. sisyphium 

 swarms on holly and other low trees. xii. Phoroncidieae, with remarkable 

 spines, Phoroncidia Africa and S. Asia, Hyocrea S. American, xiii. 

 Dipoeneae, Dipoena cosmopolitan. xiv. Pacullae, Paculla East Indies, 

 xv. Asageneae w T ith highly developed stridulating organs, Steatoda Europe 

 and America, has one British species common in angles and corners of walls, 

 Asagena and Lithyphantes have also each a British species and Teutana 

 two. xvi. Histagonieae, Histagonia Africa and America, xvii. Theo- 

 noeae, Theonoe France, xviii. Pholcommateae, Pholcomma Europe. 



Fam. 27. Argiopidae.* Sedentary spiders which build an orb or wheel- 

 like web ; chelicerae much more powerful than in the preceding family ; 

 legs very variable, often armed with spines. There are 4 sub-families. 

 1. Linyphiinae with 3 groups : i. Erigoneae, a very large assemblage 

 including the "money-spider " and those spiders which cover the fields 

 with gossamer, over 100 species including species of Erigone, Panamomops 

 are British ; ii. Formicineae, as their name implies they look like ants, 

 Formicina Mediterranean and the Japanese Solenysa form the group ; 

 iii. Linyphieae, Linyphia triangularis is common in British gorse, Tmeticus 

 has some 20 British species and Labulla, Bathyphantes, Bolyphantes and 

 Lephthyphantes are also represented in our Islands. 2. Tetragnathinae.f 

 Pachygnatha lives amongst grass and does not weave an orb, there are 3 

 British species. Tetragnatha also with British representatives makes a 

 wheel-like web ; Meta segmentata is common in English gardens. There 

 are many other genera. 3. Nephilinae. As a rule large spiders with 

 great difference in size between males and females, Phonognatha Tasmania, 

 Nephila tropical, etc. 4. Argiopinae, most of the spiders of this sub- 

 family were formerly included in the great genus Epeira. Argiope and 

 Gea and Cyrtophora tropical and sub-tropical ; Arachnura Africa, Asia and 



* Simon devotes 340 closely printed pages to this gigantic group ; after 

 describing the first three of his projected nine sub-families he abandons 

 the attempt and classifies the rest of the family into twenty-eight sub- 

 groups of the Argiopinae. We have mentioned but a minute proportion of 

 the genera so grouped. 



f This and the following two sub-families are almost identical with the 

 old family Epeiridae now discarded by Simon. 



