1882.] MR. A. G. BUTLER ON SPIDERS FROM MADAGASCAR. 763 



10. On some new or little-known Spiders from Madagascar. 

 By Arthur G. Butler, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c., Assistant 

 Keeper of the Zoological Department, British Museum. 



[Eeceived December 5, 1882.] 



(Plate LVII.) 



In a large collection of Arachnida made by the Rev. Deans 

 Cowan in Madagascar I found a few specimens of very great interest; 

 amongst these the species of the remarkable genus Ccerostris have 

 already formed the subject of a paper in the ' Annals and Magazine 

 of Natural History ' for August last. In addition to many other 

 singular forms were specimens of the curious tailed species Arach- 

 noura scorpionoides of Vinson, from Central Madagascar and the 

 Betsileo country, of the beautifully coloured Peucetia lucasii from 

 the east coast, of Latrodectus geometricus, two examples of the ex- 

 traordinary Erauchenus workmanni of Cambridge, a specimen of the 

 equally bizarre Augusta papilionacea of the same author, and, last 

 but not least, four specimens of his beautiful Phoroncidia aurata (to 

 which last I shall have occasion to refer later on). 



THERIDIIDiE. 



Chrysso, O. p. Cambridge. 



This genus was founded in the present year (P. Z. S. 1882, p. 429), 

 for the reception of two small Spiders from tlie Amazons and Ceylon. 

 I now have to add two more from Madagascar. 



1. Chrysso cordiformis, sp. n. (Plate LVII. fig. 2.) 



$ . Falces, maxillae, labium, sternum, and legs of a clear pale 

 yellow colour ; the cephalothorax above black, with pale yellow 

 margins ; abdomen above black, ornamented with four large trans- 

 verse pyriform snow-white spots, two in front and two at the back ; 

 ventral surface dark chocolate-brown. 



Cephalothorax oblong, rather narrow, slightly expanded towards 

 the back ; caput projecting in front of the eyes, in the middle, and 

 with a slight indentation in the centre of its anterior margin, which 

 is represented by the base of the falces : lateral eyes small, placed 

 longitudinally at the side of the head, of equal size ; the anterior 

 pair forming a nearly straight (slightly concave) line with the ante- 

 rior pair of central eyes ; the latter are twice as large as the lateral 

 eyes and are nearer together than the posterior central pair ; the 

 posterior central eyes are larger than the lateral ones, and are sepa- 

 rated from the anterior central pair by a slightly wider interval than 

 from one another ; the eyes of the central oculiferous area therefore 

 form an unequal square, the lateral and central posterior eyes forming 

 a nearly straight line : abdomen convex, cordiform, pointed behind ; 

 legs cylindrical, sparsely setose, 1, 4, 2, 3. Entire length 2 millim. 



Two examples ; Central Madagascar. 



