

DESCRIPTION OF GENERA AND SPECIES. 141 



genital organs of the two species are alike. I have no male of E. cornuta to compare with 

 that of E. strix. The following description is of the American specimen. 



CEPHAI.OTHORAX : Oval, quadrate in front, rounded at the sides; truncate behind, where 

 it is slightly notched ; the slope is not steep to the median fosse, which is tolerably deep ; 

 caput arched, slightly elevated at the middle above the corselet. Color brown or yellowish 

 brown, glossy, a thick row of gray hairs along the margin, which are more lightly dis- 

 tributed upon the sides and the deep cephalic suture, and more heavily upon the caput 

 back of the eyes, and again upon the face in front. Sternum shield shaped, longer than 

 wide, the width not greatly unequal throughout ; dark glossy brown, with a lighter median 

 band and hairy ; sternal cones wanting. The lip as wide as long, subtriangular. The max- 

 illre obtusely triangular at the tips, as wide as long, and, like the lip, dark glossy brown, 

 lighter at the tips. 



EYES: The ocular quad on a rounded prominence, much more decided in front; MF, 

 indeed, may be said to be placed upon large separate tubercles. The quadrilateral wider in 

 front than behind, and the length about equal to the greatest width ; MF are separated by 

 about 1.5 to 2 diameters, and are larger than MR, which are set close together, not being 

 separated by more than a radius. The side eyes are upon low tubercles, are separated by 

 about a radius of SR, which is somewhat smaller than SF, and situated behind it low upon 

 the sides, thus bringing it almost into the front row of eyes. MF are separated from SF 

 by about 1.3 their area, or 2.5 times their intervening distance. The front row is but little 

 recurved, the rear row, which is much the longer, is procurved. The space between SR 

 and MR is at least three times the area of the latter; height of clypeus about twice 

 diameter MF. 



LEGS : Stout, rather short for the size of the species, leg-I measuring 16 mm. Order, 

 1, 2, 4, 3. They are heavily clothed with yellowish gray hairs, and with numerous blackish 

 or blackish brown spines. Color yellow, with dark brown annul! at the ends of the joints ; 

 no median annuli ; palps similarly colored and heavily armed at the tips. Mandibles coni- 

 cal, much arched at the base, where they slightly project beyond the plane of the face, are 

 sparsely covered on the insides with gray hairs, and have a decided cog at the articulation 

 with the side face; they are dark glossy brown, almost black. 



ABDOMEN : A long oval, very little diminishing from base to apex ; dorsum not highly 

 arched, and, except in gravid females, rather flat; base overhangs cephalothorax ; the apex 

 rounded and high above spinnerets ; dorsal folium wide, diminishing somewhat towards the 

 spinnerets ; the margin, which is undulating, is dark brown or blackish, enclosing a herring 

 bone pattern of yellow, having a broken median band of darker color. A narrow ribbon 

 of whitish gray borders the scalloped edge of the folium, merging into broad ribbons of 

 yellowish color along the sides, the color of the yellow bands, particularly within the folium, 

 being sometimes cretaceous. These are followed farther down by a .band of darker color 

 extending to the venter. The skin is glossy. The venter has a broad band of dark brown 

 bordered by yellowish lunettes. The epigynum (Plate I., Fig. 10) has a short thin scapus, 

 and the portulse of the atriolum are separated by a broad, oval frontal plate, over which 

 the tip of the scapus extends. In some specimens the abdomen is quite dark, even blackish, 

 and this is not infrequent with the young. 



MALE: The male differs little in color and marking from the female, and is not greatly 

 less in length (9 mm.), and specimens may sometimes be found equal to the female. The palp 

 is marked by a curved lanceolate hook at the extermity, terminating in a quite decided point. 

 The second tibia is curved and armed upon the inside with strong, black clasping spines. 



DISTRIBUTION : This species is one of the most common in the Eastern United States, 

 and is distributed along the Atlantic seaboard and Middle States from Canada to the south, 

 where I have collected it and observed its habits. Its extension westward I have not been 

 able to trace beyond Wisconsin (Professor Peckham), but it is probably widely distributed. 

 As E. cornuta, the principal form, it is widely dispersed over Europe. I have captured it in 

 Great Britain and Norway, and a young specimen which I take to be this species on the upper 

 railings of the dome of St. Peter's in Rome. Most students of spiders have been greatly 

 troubled in determining the foregoing three species, namely, Epeira strix, E. sclopetariu, 



