CLASS III. ARACHNIDA: ORDER 2. POLYMEROSOMATA. 603 



Tarantula, Lycosa tarantula, of Southern Europe, whose bite is supposed by the natives of 

 Italy to cause death, unless the patient be relieved by music and violent dancing. Some of 

 these spiders can run in any direction, and are called Side- Walkers ; a common example is 

 the Saltlcus scenicus, a small species banded with black and white, which may frequently be met 



with on cfivrden walls. 



THE MYGALID^. 



The spiders with which we in temperate climates are most acquainted are of small size, but 



in hot regions there are species whose extended legs occupy 

 a circle of six or seven inches in diameter. Some of 

 these, belonging to the genus Mygale, found in South 

 America and Mexico, are said to attack young humming- 

 birds, and to climb trees for this purpose. Species occur 

 on the shores of the Mediterranean; but they are, for the 

 most part, confined to tropical countries. They resemble 

 the Lycosidaj in their habits, generally living on the ground, 

 in holes or under stones. Some of them form long, twisted 

 burrows for themselves, which extend as much as two feet 

 below the surface of the ground. The bite of the large 

 tropical species of Mygale, generally called Spider- Crabs 

 by the colonists, is said to be very dangerous. Some spi- 

 ders, like the Ctenizce, close the mouth of their subter- 

 ranean residence with a most ingeniously-constructed trap- 

 door, which the inhabitant closes with the utmost perti- 

 nacity when any attempt is made to invade the privacy 

 of his domicile. Hence these, of which several species 

 are found in the south of Europe and on the shores of the 

 Mediterranean, are generally known as Trap-door Spiders. 

 The species of spiders are very numerous, and their 

 forms, instincts, and habits greatly diversified. In general 

 they may be regarded as among the most active, ingenious, and predaceous of the smaller articulata. 



THE MT6ALE. 



ORDER 2. POLYMEROSOMATA. 



This order, sometimes called Pedipalpi, or feet-feelers, and which derives its name from the Greek 



polus, many, mera, divisions, 

 and somata, bodies, includes 

 two families, the first of which 

 is the Scorpionidce, character- 

 ized by their elongated tail-like 

 abdomen, armed at its extrem- 

 ity with a sort of hooked claw, 

 which, when the creatures are 

 in motion, is always carried over 

 the back in a most threatening 

 attitude. This claw-like organ 

 is the sting, of the formidable 

 nature of which such extraordi- 

 nary accounts are given by the 

 natives of countries to which the 

 larger and more voracious spe- 

 cies are confined. The poison 

 glands are situated close to the 



THE SCORPIU.N. 



