NOTES ON BRITISH SPIDERS. 15 



Spinners short. Genital aperture of very distinct and charac- 

 teristic form. 



An example of this small Prosthesima was sent to me by 

 Mr. William Evans, of Edinburgh, by whom it was found running 

 in the sun on a sandy spot on Largo Links, coast of Fife, on the 

 loth of June, 1897. In, its colour this specimen differs greatly 

 from the normal types, in which the brown and yellow-brown 

 hues of the Scotch examples are of a bright yellow-red and 

 red-brown, while the deeper brown colours are black. The sexes 

 of the normal type resemble each other in colours. 



FAM. THERIDIID.E. 

 * MELOS, gen. nov. 



Cephalotk&rax, short, broad, as broad as long, attenuate before ; 

 upper convexity moderate, lateral margins at caput strongly and 

 sharply indented, or impressed, and posterior slope abrupt. 



Eyes as in Theridion ; the four centrals form nearly a square, 

 rather broader than long, and its anterior side shorter than the 

 posterior. Hinder row straight or nearly so. Its eyes are more 

 than a diameter apart ; the hind-centrals rather larger than the 

 hind-laterals. The ocular area is a little prominent, and the 

 anterior row has its slight convexity directed forwards. The 

 clypeus exceeds in height half that of the facial space, and its 

 lower margin is prominent. 



Legs short, moderately strong ; i, 4, 2, 3, furnished with hairs 

 and a few slender spine -like bristles on the genuse and tibiae 



('. *) 



Maxilloc, strongly inclined towards the labium, and pointed at 

 their extremity. 



Labium broader than high ; rather rounded at the apex. 



Sternum large, its length rather less than its breadth, a little 

 roundly truncated before, posterior extremity unusually broad 

 and rounded, surface very convex. 



Abdomen large globular. 



* Norn, propr. 



