88 Mr. J. Blackwall on recently discovered Spiders 



belongs to Walckenaer's family LithopMlcB and first race Luci- 

 fugce of the genus Drassus. 



Drassus assimilatus. 



Length of the male (not including the spinners) ^ths of an 

 inch; length of the cephalothorax irV* breadth i; breadth of 

 the abdomen -^ ; length of an anterior leg f ; length of a leg of 

 the third pair ^. 



The legs are long, provided with hairs and sessile spines, and 

 of a dull yellowish-white colour, the metatarsi and tarsi, which 

 are strongly tinged with brown, having numerous hair-like pa- 

 pillae on their inferior surface ; the first pair is the longest, then 

 the fourth, and the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is 

 terminated by two curved pectinated claws. The palpi resemble 

 the legs in colour, and the radial, which is much longer than 

 the cubital joint, has no apophysis at its extremity ; the digital 

 joint is of a narrow oblong-oval form ; it is convex and hairy 

 externally, compact and somewhat pointed at the extremity, and 

 has a shallow concavity near its base, on the under side, com- 

 prising the palpal organs, which are small, little complicated in 

 structure, with a fine, curved, black spine towards the inner 

 side, and a shorter one at their extremity ; these organs have a 

 pale red-brown hue. The eyes, which are seated on black spots, 

 are disposed on the anterior part of the cephalothorax in two 

 transverse, slightly curved, parallel rows ; the posterior row is 

 the longer, and the two intermediate eyes, which are somewhat 

 oval, and nearer to each other than they are to the lateral eyes 

 of the same row, describe with the intermediate eyes of the an- 

 terior row, which is situated immediately above the frontal mar- 

 gin, an oblong-quadrangular figure; each lateral eye of the 

 posterior row is seated on a minute tubercle, and the inter- 

 mediate eyes of the anterior row are the largest and darkest- 

 coloured of the eight. The cephalothorax is large, compressed 

 before, truncated in front, rounded on the sides, thinly clothed 

 with hairs, convex, glossy, with a narrow indentation in the 

 medial line of the posterior region ; it is of a yellow-brown co- 

 lour, the anterior part, which is the darkest, being faintly tinged 

 with red, and the narrow lateral margins have a brown hue. 

 The falces are subconical, rather prominent, and armed with a 

 few teeth on the inner surface; the maxillae are convex at the 

 base, enlarged at the extremity, which is obliquely truncated on 

 the inner side, and slightly curved towards the lip, which is 

 long, and truncated and hollowed at the apex. These parts are 

 of a dark-brown colour, the maxillae and lip, which are the palest, 

 being tinged with yellow at the extremity. The sternum is 

 oval, glossy, of a pale dull yellowish colour, and is supplied with 



