180 A NATURALIST IN THE TRANSVAAL. 



Fam. SPAKASSID^E. 

 Ocypete megacephala, C. Koch. Pretoria. 



I provisionally only refer this species to C. Koch's old genus 

 Ocypete. It does not appear to fall within the limits of any of 

 the genera characterized by Mons. Simon in his paper on this 

 family. 



Fam. 

 Gastracantha, sp. Pretoria. 



Argiope nigrovittata, Thorell. Pretoria. 



A widely distributed S. -African species. 



Nephila transvaalica, sp. n. (Tab. V. fig. 4.) Pretoria. 



Cephalothorax black, clothed with silver- white hairs ; palpi 

 flavous, with the apical segment fuscous ; first two pairs of legs 

 with coxae, femora, and patellae black ; tibiae adorned with four 

 alternating bands, two flavous, two black, the proximal extre- 

 mity being black, the distal flavous ; tarso-metatarsus black, 

 with only its proximal end narrowly flavo-annulate ; third and 

 fourth pairs of legs mostly black, the proximal three-fourths of 

 the femur, however, flavous ; maxillae and labium black, the 

 inner border of the maxilla and the apex of the labium flavous ; 

 mandibles black ; sternum flavous, except for a very fine black 

 marginal line ; abdomen with a lateral band of silver hairs and 

 marked above with five transverse flavous bands. 



Cephalothorax furnished with two conspicuous tubercles ; its 

 lateral margins smooth. 



Sternum cordate, strongly narrowed posteriorly, with a low 

 tubercle at the base of the labium and at the base of each of 

 the two anterior pairs of legs ; also a minute tubercle on each 

 side of the posterior extremity of the sternum. 



Legs : femora of the first two pairs aciculate ; tibise of these 

 same legs with a tuft of hairs on the black band ; tibia of the 

 fourth pair covered with long hairs throughout; the tarso- 

 metatarsus of the fourth pair hairy at the proximal end. 



