1899.] AND SPIDEES PROM TEOPICAL WEST AFBICA. 851 



diual groove in front of it, somewhat as in Larlnia; length o 

 carapace exceeding that of 1st tibia, equal to that of 4th protarsus 

 and tarsus and to patella, tibia, and half the protarsus of 3rd leg ; 

 width equal to length of 4th tibia and to 4th protarsus, less than 

 that of 1st or 2nd tibia ; median ocular tubercle prominent. 

 Ocular quadrangle much wider in front ; the posterior eyes much 

 smaller than the anterior and nearly a diameter apart ; anterior 

 medians about a diameter apart, more than a diameter from the 

 posterior medians and from the edge of the clypeus ; eyes of 

 anterior line when viewed from the front procurved, the upper 

 edge of the laterals scarcely on a level with the centre of the 

 medians ; lateral eyes not quite in contact. 



Mandibles moderately geniculate at the base ; fang-groove 

 armed with 4 anterior and 3 posterior teeth. 



Legs armed with many strong spines ; spines black at the base 

 and apex, reddish in the median portion. 



Abdomen heart-shaped, longer than broad, widely rounded in 

 front, without shoulder-points, narrowly ovate behind, not sur- 

 passing spinners. Vulva with scape long and bent at right angles, 

 its base as wide as the basal vertical, vestibular portion, which, 

 when viewed from the side, is seen to send out a bitubercular 

 prominence beneath the scape, from which it is separated by a 

 narrow notch. 



Measurements in millimetres. — Total length 22 ; length of carapace 

 9, width 7-2 ; length of abdomen 14, width 12 ; length of 1st leg 34, 

 of 2nd 33, of 3rd 19, of 4th 30 ; patella and tibia of 1st leg 13, 

 of 4th 11 ; tibia of 1st leg 8, of 4th 7. 



Loc. Benito River (G. L. Bates). 



Mr. Bates procured many specimens of this handsome species. 



Abakeus eresifkons Poc. 



Araneus eresifrons, Poc. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1898, p. 509, pi. xli. 

 ligs. 3-3 b. 



Loc. Cameroons (H. H. Johnston). 



Previously recorded from Karagesi {Emin Pasha), Likipia (J. W. 

 Gregory), Taru {Steuart Betion), and Mombasa (D. J. Wilson). 



This species is certainly nearly allied to A. strupifer Simon 

 (Ann. Soc. Ent. France, 1885, p. 368), which, according to Simon, 

 occurs both in Senegal and Cape Colony. 



In the specimens from the Cameroons the abdomen is frequently 

 variegated above with sooty black, a type of coloration not observed 

 in the East- African forms known to me. 



Araneus ttloscapus, sp. n. (Plate LV. figs. 3-3 b.) 



Colour. Carapace testaceous ; cephalic region with blackish spots ; 

 legs testaceous, with small black spots ; patellae, tibiae, protarsi, and 

 tarsi banded with black ; mandibles testaceous ; sternum, labium, 

 and maxillse inf uscate ; abdomen olive-yellow, variegated with 

 blackish, marked above with five transverse black lines, the anterior 

 of which is the strongest and runs from one shoulder-point to the 



