new Fossil Spider (Eoatypus Woodwardii). 367 



permitted to examine some fossil insects and fossil spiders 

 therein contained, under the kind direction of Dr. Henry 

 Woodward, the Keeper of the Geological Department. 

 Among the Aranead fossils I observed one which appeared to 

 me to be new to science and closely related to the genus 

 Atypus. The fossil is a tolerably well-preserved impression 

 taken from the Eocene Tertiary at Garnet Bay, Isle of 

 Wight. 



After my return to America, Dr. Woodward sent me casts 

 both in wax and plaster, from which the appended description 

 has been made. These impressions somewhat shook the view 

 which I was at first inclined to take as to the systematic 

 place of the specimen. But on the whole I am inclined to 

 adhere, though with some qualification, to my original judg- 

 ment. 



The only hesitation that an araneologist would feel in 

 placing the species would be as to whether it belongs to 

 the Saltigrades or jumping spiders, among the Attidai per- 

 haps, or to the Territelarise, among the Atypinse. Those 

 who have examined fossils of insects and other small Arthro- 

 pods, especially of the order Aranegs, will understand the 

 difficulty of determining with absolute accuracy their generic 

 and specific rank, and will therefore not be surprised at this 

 hesitation concerning the above-named specimen. 



The shape of the cephalothorax to some extent, especially 

 as viewed in the original fossil in the British Museum, 

 and more particularly the character of the falces, as noted in 

 a side view of the specimen shown in fig. 1 , indicate that the 

 fossil may belong to the family Atypinas and be closely 

 related to Atypus. The name Eoatypus Woodwardii is there- 

 fore suggested for the species. If this inference is correct, 

 we may possibly have in this new fossil the distant progenitor 

 of the present British species of Atypus {Atypus piceus). 



Order ARANE^. 



Family AtypinsB. 



Eoatypus, nov. gen. 



Eoatypus Woodivardii. 



The total length of the body, including mandibles, is 8 

 millim. ; length of abdomen 4 millim. ; length of cephalo- 

 thorax 3 millim. ; of mandibles 1 millim. ; width of abdomen 

 at the apex 3*5 millim. ; width of abdomen at the base r75 ; 



