230 Falconer: Ahiormality in Spiders. 



palpus is somewhat tumid with the appearance of being 

 loosely covered at the apex (fig. 4), and is thus not quite 

 of the normal female shape (fig. 5). The epigyne (fig. i), is 

 very imperfect, the parts on the left side being obsolete, and 

 those on the right being very much distorted. Compare with 

 the drawing of the normal epigyne (fig. 2). The specimen is 

 thus male on the left side, but not quite female on the right. 



It is interesting to note that the spiders in which this con- 

 dition has so far been found to exist are all members of the sub- 

 family LinyphiincB of the family ArgiopidcB, Maso belonging to 

 the group Erigonece, and the rest to the group LinyphecB. 



It may be advisable here to point out that the females of a 

 certain section of the Micronetae have the tarsal joint of the 

 palpus naturally and characteristically tumid, and might 

 easily be mistaken by anyone ignorant of the fact, for herma- 

 phrodites in an incipient stage of development. 



Occasionally male spiders may be found wanting the 

 terminal joint and its accompanying palpal organs in one or 

 both of the palpi. Quite recently I examined a male Lophomma 

 herhigradum BL, without a vestige of either of these appurten- 

 ances, but perfect in other respects, both ' stumps ' being neatly 

 rounded and covered with smooth, unbroken skin. These 

 parts may sometimes be broken off by rough handling during 

 capture, but in this event the tissues at the point of fracture 

 show unmistakeable evidences of violent separation. At other 

 times they may be so defectively developed and distorted as 

 to be a mere travesty in shape, size and construction of what 

 they should really be, and are then totally unrecognisable, 

 though the species may be known in other ways. While 

 penning these lines, a good illustration of this defect has come 

 to hand from Mr. W. P. Winter, of Shipley — a Meta segmentata 

 Clerck, of which in fig. 9, page 202, I give a drawing of part of 

 the right palpus. 



Both sexes at times occur with deep wide longitudinal 

 channels, either on the dorsal or ventral surface of the abdomen. 

 The consideration of this defect opens out an interesting problem. 

 Have spiders which do not imdergo metamorphoses but advance 

 to maturity by successive moults, the same ability to repair an 

 injury to their bodies as insects which do undergo metamor- 

 phoses, and moult in the intermediate stages ? In the latter, 

 regenerative power of the kind is absent in the imago, but 

 exists in the larva and pupa, being coincident with the moulting 



Naturalist, 



