Observations upon the Tarantula. 65 



Lyco v sa Tare'ntula (Tarantula), fg. I I. 



Supra grisea nunc nigrescens nunc lutescens, marginibus pallidioribus ; 

 cephalothorace plus niinusve obscurius nebuloso ; mandibulis nigris basi 

 antica grisescente ; abdominis dorso maculis geminis 2 — 3 semi-sagittatis 

 lineolisque posticis transversis nigris; subtus nigra, ventre atrovelutino 

 marginibus anoque late intensive ochraceis ; trochanteribus, femorum basi 

 tibiarumque maculis duabus nigris. 

 Aranea Tarantula Lin. Syst. Nat., 1035.25.; Fabr. Entom. Syst.,yo\. ii. 



p. 423. ; Oliv. Encycl. Mcth., No. Lycosa melanogaster, Latr. Nouv. 



Diet. d'Hist. Nat., 2e edit. 



Hab. in aridis Europse australioris. Long. 10 — 14 Iin. 



The cephalothorax, in specimens that are recently adult and 

 very fresh, that is to say, not injured by friction, has on the 

 upper side a bed of greyish hair, sometimes uniform, some- 

 times displaying on each side of the central line a large longi- 

 tudinal spot, which is more obscure, and which often appears 

 only a dusky stain. Older specimens, or those which have 

 been carelessly handled, have often the back of the cepha- 

 lothorax stripped of its bed of hair ; and we see then the 

 naked tegument, which is of a brownish colour. In every 

 instance the edges of the trunk have a more decided tint 

 of an ochreous or clayey grey. The part surrounding the 

 eyes is bristled with a few upright hairs. The eyes, which, 

 during life, have sometimes the colour of rubies, are either 

 brown or inclining to black in dead specimens, with a pale 

 circle at their base. The strong huge mandibles are of a 

 shining black, except at their anterior base, which is covered 

 with a down, more or less grey or ochreous in colour. The 

 other parts of the mouth are black. The feelers have a tint 

 of ochre, which is often vivid ; but they are always black at 

 the extremity. 



The abdomen has a very obtusely oval form ; but it is more 

 or less developed according to the sex of the individual, and 

 to some accidental circumstances relating either to gestation 

 or alimentary repletion. As in other spiders, that of the male 

 is much the smaller, and in some wasted or feeble individuals 

 it is often so reduced as to be disproportioned to the cepha- 

 lothorax. The colour of its covering, as seen on the upper 

 side, presents some variations. In old individuals, it is of a 

 deep grey, bordering upon black : in recent adults, a yel- 

 lowish grey, more or less spotted with black, predominates; 

 but the circumference is of a clearer ochreous grey. The two 

 anterior thirds of the central part display two, rarely three, 

 pair of half-arrowhead-shaped black spots, of which the point 

 is directed backward. The hinder third is marked with trans- 

 verse blackish lines, slightly curved. The under side of the 

 body of the tarantula is black, which constitutes one of the 



