770 MR. II. C. ABRAHAM ON A NEW 



Before going on to the detailed description of the spider for 

 which, as it appears reasonable to suppose that it is the usual 

 jungle species of the genus in the southern part of the Malay 

 Peninsula, I propose the name Liphistius malayanus, I wish to 

 record my indebtedness and express my thanks to Messrs. H. R. 

 Hogg and F. de la Mare Norris ; to the former for much help 

 and advice, and to the latter for having given me the opportunity 

 of examining and writing up this extremely interesting spider as 

 well as for kindly allowing me to make use of the excellent 

 })hotos which illustrate the description of the burrow and trap- 

 door. 



Family L i p ii i s T 1 1 u m. 



Genus Liphistius Schiodte. 



Liphistius Schiodte, in Kroyer Naturh. Tijdsk. 2, ii. p. G21 

 (1849); Simon, Hist. Nat, des Ar. i. p. 64 (18S2), ii. p. 875 

 (1903). 



Liphistius malayanus, sp. n. 



Female. — Colour : Cephalothorax and mandibles black ; fangs 

 dark reddish brown ; labium and coxie of palpi brownish ; cox:e 

 and stsrnum dark grey, nearly black ; legs and p.alpi black above, 

 dark grey (nearly black) below, with undersides of "joints" 

 nearly white and sides of femora greenish ; abdomen black, 

 oporcula and fringes of spinnerets brown. 



Cephalothorax. — About 1| times ns long as broad, nariower in 

 front than behind, with the cephalic region rather more elevated 

 than is shown in Cambridge Natural History, Arachnida, fig. 201, 

 p. 386, or Fauna Brit. Ind., Arach., fig. 52, p. 155. There are 

 signs of a longitudinal series of bristles having existed on the 

 caput, behind the ocular tubei-cle. A nimiber of bristles also 

 project forward from the anterior margin, below the ocular 

 tubercle, the median ones being by far the longest. 



Eyes. — Closely grouped on a circular tubercle which is 

 higher in fi^ont than behind and situated close to the front 

 margin of the cephalothorax on a distinct declivity (text- 

 fig. \ a k, h). 



Tlie anterior laterals are considerably larger than the rest, 

 semicircular in shape, and contiguous, with their lower margins 

 occupying all the front half of the margin of the tubercle ; the 

 postei'ior laterals, next in size, touch the hind margins of the 

 anterior laterals, are also nearly semicircular but rather pointed 

 behind, and occupy the remainder of each side of the tubercle ; 

 the posterior medians are oval, rather pointed behind, and about 

 ,^ as wide as long, they are situated above and between the ' 

 jiosterior laterals with their rear ends level with the middle of 

 the latter and the front edges a little in advance of the level of 

 the hind margins of the anterior laterals ; the anterior medians 



