174 ./. //. Emerton, 



Among the Epeiridce, Zilla atrial is the only additional species 

 found since the publication of New England Epeiridas in 1884, but 

 the males of the following species are described : E. corticaria 

 E. Nordmanni, E. juniperi, E. thaddeus. 



The separation of the Therididce and Linyphiadce as two distinct 

 families seems to me an improvement, and I have adopted it in 

 this paper, but not the union of the Linyphiadce and Epeiridce 

 into one family, which obscures the marked differences between 

 these two groups. Between certain genera of these families the 

 family differences are hard to define, but the same is true of the 

 differences between genera of the Therididce and Linyphiadce. 



The Linyphiadce are divided naturally into two subfamilies — 

 Linyphiece and Erigonea, the former containing the larger long- 

 legged forms, and the latter the smaller forms with short legs and 

 short spines. The genus Microneta in the Linyphiece resembles in 

 its form the Erigonece, and its species are hard to distinguish from 

 those of Tmeticus. The most typical species are viaria, cornupalpis 

 and discolor. Microneta (Bathyphantes) bihamatus belongs to this 

 genus rather than Bathyphantes. Two new species are described 

 and new specimens have been examined of all the old species 

 except crassimanus, furcata, longibulbus and ulivacea. 



In the Linyphiece the principal additions are Linyphia maculata, 

 which has been found sparingly in many different localities and 

 described by Banks as L. conferta Hcntz, and Tapinopa bilineata 

 Banks, which has been found singly in several localities. 



In the Erigonece more than in any other group, new species are 

 frequently found, and our descriptions are often made from one or 

 a few individuals. They live for the most part near the ground, 

 hidden in moss and leaves, only small quantities of which can be 

 closely examined, and so little is known about their species and 

 distribution. In their classification they offer many difficulties. Their 

 small size makes their comparison inconvenient, and their uniformity 

 in form and color makes it hard to define their differences. The 

 only characters easy to see and describe are those of the adult 

 males— the organs on the ends of the palpi and" the modifications 

 of the head. In consequence of these difficulties, the published 

 classifications consist of a number of ill-defined genera, which have 

 been formed from time to time, as new species were discovered, 

 and the relations of which among themselves have never been 

 satisfactorily explained. In the New England Therididae I used a 

 classification based upon the genera of Menge in the Spiders of 

 Prussia, and in the present paper follow substantially the same, be- 



