DESCRIPTION OF GENERA AND SPECIES. 215 



brown band above it; tlxe head liglit yellow or bright brown; skin smooth and hard. 

 Sternum is a lung shield, engrailed at the edges, the apex pointed and somewhat length- 

 ened; the anterior or chief extending at both dexter and sinister points into rectangular 

 arms; the centre is raised; slight sternal cones opposite the coxsc and on the apex; skin 

 is hard and smooth like the corselet, with which it corresponds in color, though of a 

 rather lighter shade ; labium large, subtriangular, colored like the sternum with a yellow- 

 ish tip, as also are the muxilhu, which are ovate, somewhat longer than wide, the tips sub- 

 triangular. 



EYES: Ocular quad on a slightly raised prominence, the rear considerably wider than 

 the front, and equal to sides or even a little longer ; MF somewhat smaller than MR, and 

 separated by about one diameter ; MR by about 1.5 diameter ; eyes on a black ring. Side 

 eyes on decided tubercles, and each upon a slight secondary tubercle; SF larger than SR, 

 from which they are separated by about or more than the diameter of SR; MF are removed 

 from SF by about twice their alignment, and from clypeus margin by about 1.5 diameter ; 

 front row recurved, the longer rear row slightly procurved. 



LEGS: 4, 1, 2, 3; the fourth leg being 9 mm. long, the first leg 8 mm.; clothed with 

 hairs and bristles, with decided spines, and the skin roughened partly by the lumpy bases 

 of bristles ; color uniform yellow, or yellowish brown, or orange brown, varying with indi- 

 viduals. They are tolerably stout, the two first pair more so than the others ; the third 

 leg, instead of extending backward like the fourth leg, extends forward like the two first 

 pair; palps colored like legs; mandibles yellowish brown, rather short, rounded at the base, 

 where they project a little beyond the face, tapering at the tip. 



ABDOMEN : An irregular oval, truncated at the base, widened at the apex, where on 

 either side it is elongated into two long thornlike spines; the dorsal front has two decided 

 spines, but shorter than the posterior, and midway between these a much abbreviated pair ; 

 the skin is hard and smooth, slightly pubescent, and covered with rows of brown circular 

 pits, which encompass the abdomen. The color varies somewhat, in some specimens being 

 more brilliant than in others, but typical specimens have the dorsum bright yellow, the 

 bases of the spines crimson or orange, toward the point deepening into brown or blackish 

 brown or black. The sides are ridged with alternate rows of yellow or brown. The spin- 

 nerets are on a conical projection well underneath the abdomen ; venter colored like the 

 sides, the posterior parts around the gills and epigynum being orange brown. The epigy- 

 num (Figs. 8b, 8c) has a well elevated and rounded atriolum of the same chitinous texture 

 as the abdomen, slightly pubescent, and at the middle elongated into a scapus which is 

 wide and triangular at the base, with an attenuated shank, enlarged at the tip into a rounded 

 spoon; the terminal parts are light yellow, the base brown. The portulse are prominent, 

 and on either side and in front the wall is elevated into a subtriangular partition, lying 

 just beneath the scapus. 



MALE : Figs. 9, 9a, 9b. In form and general characteristics the male differs widely from 

 the female. Its length is about 4.5 mm. ; the color is black or deep blackish brown ; the 

 cephalothorax dark brown, or sometimes dark yellow. The fore legs are black or blackish 

 brown, except the two terminal joints; the third and fourth legs are usually lighter in 

 color. The cephalothorax is a long oval. The eyes are arranged substantially as in the 

 female; the palp distinguished as at 9a, 9b. The abdomen widens toward the apex, where 

 it is nearly twice as wide as at the base, and is rounded at the corners. It is destitute of 

 the spinous processes which characterize the female, but in some species there are slightly 

 developed humps on either side, though the posterior spines are wanting; the spinnerets 

 are placed underneath the abdomen as in the female ; the skin is tough, smooth, and 

 shining. 



DISTRIBUTION : This species reminds one of tropical fauna in its general appearance, but 

 is widely distributed throughout the Northern and Middle as well as the Southern United 

 States. It has been traced from New England through New York, Pennsylvania, New 

 Jersey, along the Atlantic Coast, to Florida, along the Gulf Coast; it has been found in 

 Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. I have received no specimens from the Pacific Slope; 

 the distribution is probably limited by the Rocky Mountains. 



