and rare British Spiders. 249 



The falces are rather long, not particularly strong, slightly 

 divergent and nearly vertical ; they are armed on their inner 

 margin, near the extremities, with four or five sharp teeth. 



The maxillae are strong, rather long, but of normal form 

 and character ; they are furnished with a few bristles, and are 

 of a dusky orange-yellow colour. 



The labium is of normal form, and suffused strongly with 

 black. 



The sternum is of the usual heart-shape, considerably con- 

 vex, and of a glossy bright orange-yellow colour, furnished 

 with a few prominent bristles. 



The abdomen is of an elongate oval form, not particularly 

 convex above, nor projecting greatly over the base of the 

 cephalothorax ; its colour is dull black tinged with olive ; and it 

 is clothed thinly with hairs ; the genital aperture is of charac- 

 teristic form, but the epigyne connected with it is not very 

 prominent. 



A single example of this pretty and distinct species was 

 found by myself among heather in May 1875, on Bloxworth 

 Heath ; the contrast of its dark caput and bright orange 

 thorax and legs makes it, as a British one, rather a striking- 

 looking spider, and I know of no described species of which it 

 might possibly be the hitherto unknown female. 



Erigone subita?iea, sp. n. PL VIII. fig. 7. 



Adult male, length -^ inch. 



This minute species is nearly allied to E. prcecox, Cambr.; 

 the latter, however, may be distinguished without difficulty by 

 the greater curvature of the hinder row of eyes, the central 

 eyes of this row being distinctly nearer to each other than 

 each is to the hind lateral on its side ; the ocular area is thus 

 broader than in E. subitanea, and the clypeus is less in height, 

 being less than half that of the facial space, while in E. 

 subitanea it is as nearly as possible equal to half. In this 

 latter species the occiput (looked at in profile) is also a little 

 more gibbous ; and the apophysis at the fore extremity of the 

 radial joint of the palpus, although, if any thing, larger than 

 the very similar one in E. prcecox, is yet much less easily 

 seen, being in close contact with the digital joint, so that 

 when looked at in profile even its extreme point is scarcely 

 visible beyond the surface of the digital joint, while in E. 

 prcecox it is prominent and very perceptible. 



The ceplialothorax is of ordinary general form and of a 

 brightish yellow-brown colour; the normal grooves and in- 

 dentations are distinctly, but not strongly, marked ; and from 



