1898.] KEW SPIDERS FROM TRINIDAD. 891 



interesting discovery, namely, that a large arboreal Theraphosid 

 indigenous to Trinidad possesses, in both sexes, a stridulating- 

 apparatus similar in general character to those hitherto found 

 only amongst, and supposed to be confined to, the TherapliosidcB of 

 the Ethiopian and Oriental Regions. 



I had myself previously described one of these Spiders, a female, 

 under the name Santaremia longipes, without, however, discovering 

 the " lyra " and " pecten " of the organ in question. This speci- 

 men, too, had been deprived of the greater part of the long fringing 

 hairs on the tibise and protarsi of the legs, so characteristic in the 

 examples sent by Dr. Ince, and it was therefore relegated to the 

 genus Santaremia and regarded as one of the burrowing My gales. 

 Mr. E. I. Pocock, too, had described a spider, also very worn and 

 rubbed, the locality of which was doubtful, possessing a stridulating- 

 organ, as Psalmopceus cambrid(jii. 



There can be now no doubt that the females sent by Dr. Ince 

 from Trinidad are identical with the spider described by Mr. Pocock; 

 and probably the locality, doubtfully quoted as " East Indies," 

 should now be rectified to " West Indies." 



The important point, however, lies in the fact that hitherto, 

 although certain members of the family Dipluridce indigenous to 

 the Neotropics possess a very distinct stridulating-organ i, yet this 

 is the lirst record of its occurrence amongst members of the family 

 Theraphosidce found in the Neotropics. It is too early to decide 

 yet whether this fact will materially modify the classification of the 

 Theraphosidce, according to the presence or absence of this organ, 

 or not. But the possession of two spurs beneath tibia i. of the 

 male of the Trinidad spider certainly does not tend to simplify 

 the question. None of the stridulating Oriental forms possess 

 any spur beneath tibia i. ; and the Trinidad species therefore does 

 not appear to be simply an Oriental form, far away from the head- 

 quarters of its kith and kin, but rather a form nearly allied to 

 Avicularia, Tapinauchenius, &c., abnormal only in the possession 

 of the stridulating-organ. 



I may here say that, thanks to the kindness of Mr. Thos. Potter, 

 I have been able to examine a magnificent male of this fine species, 

 all those sent by Dr. Ince having been females. 



Being anxious to settle, too, whether this Spider was possibly 

 Tapinauchenwis phimipes (C. Koch) ^, I begged from M. E. Simon 

 an example of what he regards as that species taken in Surinam, 

 whence Koch's original type came. Although the Spider sent by 

 M. Simon is exceedingly similar in general character, it, however, 

 possesses no stridulating-organ at all, although the two spurs are 

 present beneath tibia i. Another adult male sent me by M. Simon 

 from Costa Eica possesses both stridulating-organ and tibial spurs, 

 though it is certainly not of the same species as the Trinidad 

 form. 



The genus Tapinauchenius then, supposing, as we may reasonably 



» F. Oamb. P. Z. S. 1896, pi. xxxt. figs. 1. 2, 3. 

 ^ Die Arachniden, ix. p. 67, fig. 733. Hab. Surinam. 



59* 



