452 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 



states that they are 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 

 . . 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 Groea 

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



(Menge) is near Zilla. All of 

 these belong with the family 

 Epeirina?. Androgeus (Koch 

 and Ber.) alone probably be- 

 longs to another family, the 

 Uloborina3. Scudder divides 

 the Orbweaving species of Flor- 

 issant among four genera, Epe- 

 FIG. 373. FIG. 374. ira, Tethneus (new), Nephila, 



Fossil spiders from the amber. (After Berendt.-) an( J Tetragnatha, all 



FIG. 372. Qea epeiroidea. FIG. 373. Androgeus militaris ; male. 



Ihus all the Orbweavers in 



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

 an Orb weaver), belong to the same family Epeirina3, 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 

 F T d exam P le ' tne Orbweaving genera Epeira, Zilla, Tetragnatha, and 

 Existing Ne P hila are now common to both hemispheres, are all found in 

 Fauna. tne United States, and the first three abundant. We should 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 differ from existing Orbweaving genera. The 



1 Paleontographica, Beitrage zur Naturgeschichte der Vorwelt, Band VIII. " Fossile 

 Insekten aus der Rheinischen Braun-kohle," von C. von Heyden. Taf. I., Fig. 11, page 2. 

 Gea krantzi Heyd. Fundort: Rott, Sammlung Krantz. 2 European Spiders, page 223. 



3 Ibid. * Op. cit. below, Tab. III., Figs. 12, 17. 



