1872.] SPIDERS OF PALESTINE AND SYRIA. 309 



abdomen (which is generally of a uniform mottled yellowish hue) 

 being of a more oval form, aud both that and the cephalothorax 

 (which has the central portion yellow and the sides yellow-brown) 

 being furnished over the greater part of their surface with small but 

 conspicuous tubercles, each of which is surmounted by a short, strong, 

 pale-coloured spine. The palpi also differ very decidedly in their 

 structure from those of T. abbreviatus ; the radial joint instead of 

 being produced at its outer extremity into a long, strong, and some- 

 what clavate apophysis, has merely two prominent spiny projections 

 from near the middle of the outer side ; the palpal organs are simple 

 but prominent, and have a small acute corneous projection near their 

 base on the outer side. 



The female greatly exceeds the male in size ; but the cephalothorax 

 resembles that of the latter sex ; its colour is yellow, the ocular pro- 

 minences and face white, and there is a broad longitudinal deep yellow- 

 brown band on either side. The legs are yellow, marked irregularly 

 with cretaceous white and red-browu. The abdomen is strongly 

 rounded behind, but has, towards the fore extremity of the upper 

 part, on either outer margin, a short subcorneal prominence, marked 

 in some examples with a conspicuous black dash or spot ; the rest 

 of the abdomen is of a pale whitish yellow, with occasionally some 

 brownish markings on and beneath its fore extremity ; some examples 

 (chiefly immature) are destitute of all dark markings, whether on the 

 cephalothorax, legs, or abdomen. 



Adult males, and females both adult and immature, were found on 

 low-growing plants and flowers on the plains of the Jordan. It was 

 also met with in Egypt in 1864; and in a collection of Spiders re- 

 ceived from Major Julian Hobson from Bombay there were numerous 

 females which (speaking diffidently in the absence of any example 

 of the male) I believe to be of this species. 



Fam. Philodromides. 

 Genus Philodromus (Walck). 



PHILODROMUS THOREELII, Sp. nOV. 



Male adult, length 2 lines. 



This Spider is nearly allied to Araneus formicinus (Clerck) (Thomi- 

 sus rhomboicus, Hahn), which it resembles in the general character 

 of its markings, but may be easily distinguished by these being less 

 distinct, by its smaller size and longer legs, which differ also (at 

 least in the males) in their relative proportion, and by the absence 

 of any apophysis at the outer extremity of the radial joint of the 

 palpus. 



In the present species the legs of the second pair ( <$ ad.), in T. 

 rhomboicus those of the fourth pair are the longest. Also in Philo- 

 dromus thorellii the dark lanceolate marking along the centre of the 

 fore half of the upperside of the abdomen has two distinct promi- 

 nent points on the margin of each side, while there are scarcely any 

 perceptible points in that P. rhomboicus. 



