of the Genera of the Aranea*. 63 



If, liowever, in the original diagnosis of Micromata, 

 Latreille had included any character which would have 

 definitely excluded A. accentwita, then it might be possible 

 to act on this fact. 



Hut Latreille's original diagnosis of " Les Grottifonnes,^* 

 Walck., is " Mfichoires droites, quatribme paire de pattes la 

 plus longuc" (Nouv. Diet. p. 135, 1804); characters which 

 n})ply equally well to the well-known European A. accentuaia. 

 Jt is perfectly clear that Latreille and Walckenaer both 

 wislu'tl accentuata to be dissociated from the other three 

 " grottiformes," and neither of them eared what became of 

 the original name Micromata ; the author sunk it as a 

 synonym, while Walckenaer swamped it under his new name 

 Sparai>sus. 



It is, however, the duty of science to restore Micromata as 

 a generic name, and it is impossible to enter into the question 

 of the wishes and sentiments of authors. This would simply 

 end in a labyrinth of inconsistencies and endless disagreement 

 and disputation. For, if we are to consider the wishes of 

 either of these authors in connection with the signification of 

 Micromata, why ignore their conjoint wishes in regard to the 

 name itselt ? 



If we take this line, why are we not also to accept the 

 names substituted by Walckenaer in those cases where he 

 considered them more suitable than others previously given 

 to the same genus or species by other authors ? Thorell and 

 Simon both select virescens, Clerck, as the type. 



Type, Micromata accentuata (Walck.), 1802. 



OXYOPES, Latreille, 1804, Nouv. Diet. xxiv. p. 135 col 2 

 line 12. 



A single species only inclutied — Aranea heterophthahna. 

 Type, Oxyopes heterophthalnius, Latr., 1804. 



DOLOMEDES, Latreille, 1804, Nouv. Diet. xxiv. p. 135, col. 2 

 line '^'2. 



Two species were originally included, namely those men- 

 tioned under " Les Coureuses " by Walckenaer, Faun. Par. 

 p. 235 : — (1) A. mirabilis, Clerck, pi. v. fig. 10 ; (2) A. mar- 

 ginata, De Gecr, t. vii. p. 281. 24. 



The latter is identical with Araneus Jimhriatus of Clerck 

 and was selected as the type of the genus under " Arai"-nee 

 loup bord^e," De Geer, in 1810, by Latreille. A. mirabilis 

 was in 1837 referred to Ocyale, Sav. ; but the type of Ocyale 



