628 REV. O. p. CAMBRIDGE ON NEW ARANEIDEA. [NoV. 18, 



equals half that of the facial space. The colour of the cephalothorax 

 is a deep blackish brown ; the ocular area, a lougitudinal central line 

 on the caput, and some converging streaks on the tliorax yellow. 

 Looked at in profile, the caput is rather raised above the thorax. 



The leffs and falces are yellow-brown ; the fang deep black-brown, 

 and towards the extremity red-brown. 



The abdomen, in the only example examined, was of a uniform 

 blackish hue, but this probably arose from its imperfect state of 

 preservation. It was large in front, tapering to an obtuse termina- 

 tion behind. 



Hab. S. Africa. 



CcEROSTRis ALBiCEPS, sp. n. (Plate LIII. fig. 8.) 



Adult female, length 7| lines. 



Cephalothorax short, broad, and of the characteristic form belong- 

 ing to this genus. The upper part of the caput is white, densely 

 clothed with shining white pubescence. Clypeus black, clothed with 

 short grey and brownish hairs ; thorax behind black, on the sides 

 bright and red, almost scarlet. 



Eyes small. Four centrals, on a protuberance, form a trapezoid, 

 of which the posterior end is longest and the sides shortest. 



Falees powerful, vertical, black, clothed with brownish hairs. 



Legs not very long, strong, relative length 4, 1, 2, 3?, difficult to 

 decide owing to their damaged state. Femora thinly clothed with 

 fine hairs, bright shining chestnut-red, with the anterior extremities 

 shining purple-black ; the rest thinly clothed with grey, white, and 

 brownish hairs and pubescence, black beneath the extremities of the 

 tibiae, and irregularly annulated with black and white on the metatarsi 

 and tarsi. 



Abdomen large, somewhat round, with two very large long divergent 

 protuberances on the fore half of the upperside of a slightly tapering 

 form, and cleft into two parts, or bifid, at the extremities. Slightly 

 in front of and between these is a small, sharp, conical hump, and 

 two smaller ones also in a transverse line wide apart, behind, towards 

 the spinners. The colour of the abdomen is black-brown, clothed 

 with greyish and brownish pubescence, excepting a large subtriangular 

 patch at the fore extremity densely clothed with short shining white 

 hairs. Perhaps in well-preserved exam^ples there may be some 

 distinct p.atteru visible, but the only example seen was dried, and 

 from injury and shrinking it was difficult to get more than a general 

 idea of its form, colours, and indument. 



A fine and striking-looking species owing to the strong contrast of 

 the colours of the cephalothorax. It is nearly allied to C. coivani, 

 Butl., a Madagascar species (P. Z. S. 1882, p. 103, pi. vi. fig. 4), 

 but is a very much larger Spider, and I think distinct, though I 

 suspect that when the various African species of Ccerostris come to 

 be collected in lengthened series from different localities, great 

 variations will be found to exist both in size and other specific 

 characters. 



