1902.] SPIDEBS OF THE GENUS LATRODECTUS. 253 



L. hystrix. See figures of the abdominal pattern. The central 

 anterior eyes are always, in all the examples which have come 

 before me, slightly larger than the laterals ; and, though I am 

 unable to find any real difierence in the form of the palpal organs 

 of the male, yet the vulva of the female is distinctly different 

 from that of L. mactmis. The egg-cocoon is also characteristic, 

 being covered with small silky cusps, unlike that of L. mactans, 

 which is of smooth silk. 



This species I found commonly in the angles of windows in the 

 towns and villages thi-oughout the Lower Amazons. Specimens 

 exhibit every variety of coloration from grey to black. 



Sab. South America : San Pedro and Rio Apia, Paraguay, 

 San Domingo and Ouragao {Simon) ; Brazil {Keyserling) ; Rio 

 Janeiro (Gfoldi) ; Minas Geraes [Rogers) ; Lower Amazons, San- 

 tarem, etc. {F. P. Cambridge). Africa : Khartoum ( Voission) ; 

 Abyssinia, Mozambique, and Madagascar {Simon) ; Cape Colony, 

 Table Mountain {Hull) ; Jansenville {Miss Leppan) ; Cape Yerde 

 Islands {F. P. Cambridge). India : Kurrachee and Manora 

 {Townsend). Australia : Melbourne {Hogg). 



3. Latrodectus pallidus 0. P. Cambridge, 1872. (Plate XXVI. 



fig. 1.) (Species.) 



Hob. Plains of Jordan {0. P. Cambridge). Persian GuLf, 

 Bushire {Kurrachee Museum). 



4. Latrodectus mactans (Fabr.), 1775. (Plate XXYII. fig. 2.) 



(Species.) 



Synonyms. Abbot's Drawings: 191, 194, 195, 395, 344.— 



L. formjidabilis Walck.^Z. variolus Walck. — L. intersector 



Walck. — L. formidahilis Nicolet. — L. variegatus Nicolet. — 



L. thoracicus Nicolet. — L. zorilla (Walck.), sub Tetragnatha. 



— L. dotatus C. L. Koch. — L. verecu7idum (Hentz). — L. line- 



atum (Hentz). — L. apicalis Butler. — L. carolinus Butler. — 



Ir. malmignathus, var. tropica Van Hasselt. 



With regard to this form, after examining numerous examples 



from North America and Central Ameiica and a few from Peru, 



I have come to the conclusion that originally it was derived from 



the same stock as tredecim-guttatus Rossi ; and that whatever 



small difierences there are between the two now, they are the 



result of long separation and different surroundings. The only 



differences which appear to me to be constant, lie in the relative 



position of the eyes of the anterior row and the hairy clothing of 



the abdomen. It is true that the abdominal pattern is different, 



the lateral spots being elongate-oval, or long narrow stripes, instead 



of more rounded and shorter, as in tredecim-guttatus ; but since 



there is every variety of coloration, from those which are entirely 



black, or have only the apex of the abdomen red, to those which 



are fully striped with red, one cannot regard colour-characters as 



of specific importance. 



