1873.] DR. J. ANDERSON ON ASIATIC SHREWS. 227 



furnished above with white hairs ; the humeral joints are strong. 

 The radial is rather shorter than the cubital, but stronger, and has 

 an apophysis beneath its anterior extremity : this apophysis was not 

 easy to be seen satisfactorily ; but it appeared to be pointed and a 

 little curved or bent outwards at its extremity. The digital joint 

 exceeds in length the radial and cubital together. The palpal 

 organs are simple, and neither highly developed nor prominent, being 

 almost concealed by the hairs on the margins of the digital joint ; 

 they appeared to consist merely of an oval, flattish, deep-black-brown, 

 corneous lobe. 



The falces are rather long, moderately strong, of a somewhat 

 flattened form, projecting forwards and a little divergent from each 

 other ; their colour is a dark reddish yellow-brown. 



The abdomen is small, oval, and projects but slightly over the 

 base of the cephalothorax ; it is thinly furnished with hairs and is of 

 a yellow-brown colour, marked and mottled with blackish brown ; but 

 no distinct pattern was traceable ; some of the hairs on the hinder 

 half of the upperside are white and appear as if they would form, 

 when uninjured, four indistinct spots in a quadrangle with two short 

 transverse curved lines between them. The female is larger than 

 the male, but resembles it in colours and markings : it was recorded 

 (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1869, p. 543) as S. illigeri (Sav.) ; but the male 

 found in the more recent collection received from Mr. Melliss leads 

 me to believe it to be distinct from that species. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXIV. 



Fig. 1. Filistata condita $ . 



Upperside of abdomen. 



2. Gnapliosa lugubris $ . 



a, b, palpus, in two positions. 



3. Clubiona dubia $ . 



Palpus. 



4. Cheiracanthium mellissii $ . 



a, $ , slightly enlarged ; b, cephalothorax and falces, in profile ; c, fore 

 part of caput, from behind ; d, palpus ; /, portion of ditto, more 

 magnified ; e, natural length of Spider. 



5. Cheiracanthium planum J. 



a, profile of cephalothorax and falces ; b, palpus ; d, natural length of 

 Spider. 



6. Amaurobius crucifer 9 • 



a, profile ; b, upperside ; c, caput and falces, from the front ; d, natural 

 length of Spider. 



2. On the Species and Dentition of the Southern Asiatic 

 Shrews, preliminary to a Monograph of the Group. By 

 John Anderson, M.D., Calcutta. 



[Keceived December 11, 1872.] 



An examination of the Shrews in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, 

 convinces me that our knowlege regarding the Inc 1 n species is very 

 defective. This remark seems to be equally applicable to the species 



15* 



