240 



HARVEST SPIDERS. 



which are often much enlarged ; in the male of Phalangium opilio, for example, 

 the second segment is produced upwards into a great horn -like process. Fossil 

 forms occur in the Carboniferous, one of which has been described as Eophrynus. 



Suborder Laniatores. 



In the harvest spiders of this group the first sternal plates of the abdomen do 

 not project forwards to any great distance between the coxae of the cephalothoracic 

 limbs ; the first being thus separated from the mouth by a long though narrow 

 sternal area lying longitudinally between the coxae of the right and left sides. The 

 claw of the palpi is usually long, strong, and fold^l backwards against the tarsus, 

 while the other segments are generally furnished with strong spines. Only the 



last four segments of the abdomen are free, the 

 anterior coalescing with the carapace, which bears 

 a pair of eyes, situated usually upon a single dorsal 

 tubercle. This suborder is represented by numerous 

 families in the tropical countries of both Eastern 

 and Western Hemispheres. South of the Equator 

 it extends to a considerable distance, reaching in 

 South America as far as Tierra del Fuego ; although 

 in temperate lands to the north of the Equator 

 it is poorly represented, there being only a few 

 species of small size in Europe and the United 

 States. In the tropical parts of Central and South 

 America the group attains its maximum of develop- 

 ment, both as regards species and genera, and the 

 abundance and size of individuals. In the families 

 Cosmetidce and Gonylcptidce, for instance, speci- 

 mens sometimes reach an inch in length, and cover 

 with their long slender legs a span of many 

 inches. The suborder also has representatives in South Africa and Tropical Asia. 



An aberrant group of the Laniatores is the family Sironidce containing a few 

 species from South Europe and the Oriental countries. These are all of small size 

 with elongate oval bodies, and relatively short and stout legs. The palpi, moreover, 

 are not armed with spines, thus resembling those of the following suborder ; and 

 the legs are tipped with a single claw. The two eyes, which are situated at the 

 sides of the carapace, are raised on stalks, and generally there is an additional eye 

 on each side at the base of the stalk. 



CHILIAN HARVEST SPIDER, 



Gonyleptes chilensis (nat. size). 



Suborder Palpatores, 



These harvest-spiders differ from the preceding group in having the anterior 

 sternal areas of the abdomen thrust far forwards between the bases of the 

 thoracic limbs, so as to lie just behind the mouth. The claw of the palpi is short 

 and weak, and these appendages are small and unspined, being used merely as 

 organs of touch and not of prehension. The legs, moreover, are furnished with a 



