94 Mr. J. Blackwall on recently discovered Spiders 



eight j the eyes of each lateral pair are placed obliquely on a 

 tubercle, and are contiguous. The abdomen is large, glossy, 

 sparingly clothed with hairs, somewhat oviform, convex above, 

 and projects greatly over the base of the cephalothorax ; it is of 

 a black hue, and has a curved yellowish-white band at its ante- 

 rior part, contiguous to the cephalothorax, which passes nearly 

 to the middle of the upper part of each side, and whose enlarged 

 extremities are directed upwards ; there is a triangular point in 

 the middle of the interior of this curve; and a series of triangular 

 yellowish-white spots, comprising a brown longitudinal streak, 

 and diminishing in size as they approach the spinners, extends 

 along the middle ; a few obscure slightly curved lines of the 

 same hue occur above the coccyx, and on each side, near the 

 enlarged extremity of the anterior curved band, there is an ob- 

 long yellowish-white spot ; the colour of the under part is yel- 

 lowish white, irregularly marked with dark brown, and a brown 

 quadrangular space in the middle has a yellowish-white border. 

 Captured in the Island of St. Antonio. 



Family Epe'irid^. 



Genus Epeira, Walck. 



Epe'ira mcesta. 



Length of the male -i-th of an inch ; length of the cephalo- 

 thorax -j^, breadth ■^•, breadth of the abdomen -^V; length of 

 an anterior leg -^j length of a leg of the third pair -^. 



The legs are slender, provided with hairs, and have a brown- 

 black hue, with yellowish-brown annuli on the tibise, metatarsi, 

 and tarsi ; the first pair is the longest, then the second, and the 

 third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by claws of 

 the usual number and structure. The palpi are short, and of a 

 brown colour, the digital joint being much the darkest; the 

 radial joint is stronger than the cubital, and has a few long, fine, 

 curved hairs at its extremity, in front; the digital joint is of an 

 oblong-oval form, with a process at its base curved outwards ; 

 it is convex and hairy externally, concave within, and the palpal 

 organs connected with it are highly developed, prominent, com- 

 plex in structure, with a fine prominent spine near the base, a 

 curved one on the under side, and a short bifid one near their 

 extremity; these organs have a yellow-brown hue; and the 

 convex sides of the digital joints are directed towards each other. 

 The cephalothorax is oval, convex, glossy, with a large indenta- 

 tion in the medial line of the posterior region ; it is sparingly 

 supplied with short white hairs, and is of a brown-black colour, 

 the anterior margin being the brownest. The eyes are disposed 

 on the anterior part of the cephalothorax in two transverse rows 



