826 



CLASS V. ARACHNIDA. 



like a spear-head ; eyes very unequal ; chelicerae long and pointed ; 

 legs long and not very unequal ; integument soft with numerous coloured 

 hairs. They are day spiders and run swiftly over plants and at times 

 jump actively. Peucetia tropical ; Oxyopes sub-tropical and tropical, 

 one species is very rarely found in South England ; Tapinillus tropical 

 America. 



Fam. 38. Salticidae (Attidae). The largest family of the Order with 

 already some thousand recognized species. They are primarily tropical 

 but extend north and south, some 33 species reaching Great Britain. 



FIG. 542. Tegenaria domestic ?. 



P'IQ. 544. Salticus 

 scenicws 9 . 



Cephalothorax longer than it is broad ; eyes very unequal ; chelicerae 

 vertical ; abdomen narrowing behind ; legs short and robust, 2 claws ; 

 sexes usually of about the same size but differing in colour. The Salticidae 

 are hunters both by running and jumping especially in the sunshine, and 

 the males before mating indulge in various prenuptial antics. They form 

 no snares but they weave a retreat in which the female sits and the eggs 

 are protected. They are divided into some seventy-five groups of which 

 we only mention a very few. Marpisseae with Salticus (Fig. 544) Eur., Asia, 

 America outside the Tropics, Marpissa with the same wide distribution, 

 and Hyctia which does not occur in Asia. There are British representa- 

 tives of these genera. Sitticeae with Sitticus (Attus) Europe, Asia and 

 America, S. pubescens is often seen on walls and palings. Hasariae 

 with Hasarius cosmopolitan in warm climates with a British species 

 common in woods. Mymarachneae include spiders which mimic ants. 

 Myrmarachne formicaria a cosmopolitan species in temperate climes is 

 found, but very rarely, in England. 



