183 Mr. J. Blackwall on some new species 0/ Araneidea. 



palpi by arachnologists, referring at the same time to the original 

 observations of M. Duges on the subject^ published in the ' An- 

 nales des Sciences Naturelles/ 1836, seconde serie, t. vi. Zoologie, 

 p. 166. When the paragraph comprising the statement of this 

 opinion was penned, M. Walckenaer doubtless was not aware that 

 a paper of mine, including a correction of the erroneous impression 

 that the superior pair of spinners when considerably elongated 

 and pointed at the extremity perform the office of feelers merely, 

 and distinctly detailing the particulars of their external organi- 

 zation and use, was published in the ' Report of the Third Meet- 

 ing of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 

 held at Cambridge in 1833,' p. 445 ; and repubhshed in 1834 in 

 my ' Researches in Zoology,' pp. 298 — 300. Additional evidence 

 of the accuracy of the conclusions here referred to is afforded by 

 the structure of the superior spinners of Tegenaria sava. 



Family THERIDIID^. 



Genus Neriene, Blackw. 



2. Neriene flavipes . Mas niger, pedibus sordide luteis ; pedum pari 

 jmo £(■ 4to longissimis, sequalibus, S*^'" brevissimo. 



Length of the male yljth of an inch ; length of the cephalo- thorax 

 J^ ; breadth ^^ ; breadth of the abdomen J^ ; length of an anterior 

 leg ^ ; length of a leg of the third pair yL. 



Cephalo-thorax oval, glossy, convex, with a slight indentation 

 in the medial line of the posterior region : mandibles powerful, 

 conical, divergent at the extremities, armed with a few minute 

 teeth on the inner surface, and inclined towards the sternum, 

 which is convex and heart-shaped : maxillae strong, enlarged 

 where the palpi are inserted, and inclined towards the lip, which 

 is semicircular and prominent at the extremity : abdomen oviform, 

 sparingly covered with hairs, convex above, projecting over the 

 base of the cephalo-thorax : all these parts are black. The inter- 

 mediate eyes form a trapezoid whose anterior side is rather the 

 shortest ; the posterior eyes of the trapezoid are the largest, and 

 the anterior ones the smallest of the eight. Legs of a dull yel- 

 lowish hue ; first and fom'th pairs the longest and equal in length, 

 third pair the shortest. This spider, like the rest of the genus, 

 has the tarsi terminated by three claws ; the two superior ones 

 are curved and pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected near 

 its base. Palpi black, with a tinge of brown ; the cubital and 

 radial joints are short, the latter being much the larger ; the di- 

 gital joint is somewhat oval, with a bold conical prominence in 

 front, and a small one at the upper part on the inner side ; it is 

 convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal 



