THE ATYPUS SULZERI. 67 



One of the best, if not indeed the very best, examples of the 

 British burrowing Arachnida is the remarkable species, Atypus 

 Sidzeri^ a creature which is so rare as to have received no 

 English name. It is a small species, not half an inch in length, 

 but it is a curiously-constructed being ; and were it made on 

 a larger scale, would be a really formidable species. Its jaws 

 are long, sharply pointed, and remarkably stout at their bases — 

 so stout, indeed, that, but for a remarkable adaptation of struc- 

 ture, it would not be able to see anything in front. 



None of these spiders have a separate head, that part of the 

 body and the thorax being fused together, and forming what is 

 called by naturalists a ' cephalothorax,' i.e. a head-thorax. The 

 same structure may be observed in the scorpion, and also in the 

 common lobster, the shrimp, and other Crustacea. The eyes, as 

 in all spiders, are rather close together, and are placed upon the 

 upper part of this cephalothorax ; but so large are the bases of 

 the jaws, that they rise far above the level of the cephalothorax : 

 and if the eyes were placed in the ordinary manner would act 

 like the ' blind ' that is hung over the eyes of a bad-tempered 

 bull. In order, however, to enable the spider to see objects 

 in front, a sort of little turret rises from the cephalothorax, and 

 on its summit are placed the eyes. Naturalists familiarly call 

 this projection the ' watch-tower.* 



This spider inhabits moist situations, and burrows into the 

 banks, the direction of the burrow being at first horizontal and 

 then sloping downwards. It is lined with a remarkably com- 

 pact silken tube, beautifully white, and about half an inch in 

 diameter. The upper part of the tube is rather larger than the 

 lower, and projects from the earth, falling forward so as to form 

 a flap, which protects the mouth of the burrow. Specimens of 

 this remarkable spider have been obtained from several parts of 

 England. • 



Several large spiders that live mostly upon the ground are 

 confounded together under the general name of Tarantula. 

 There is scarcely a part of the world where is not found some 

 great Lycosa, or Wolf-spider, that is popularly called by the 



