COLLECTED IN DUTCH NEW GUINEA. 429 



Dr. C. L. Doleschall, in 1857 (" Arach. van den Indischen Archipel," Act. Sci. Soc. 

 Indo-Neevl. vol. v. 1858/9, p. 5), described a spider from Amboina under the name of 

 Cteniza malayana. 



In his drav/iug [loc. cit. pi. vi. fig. 8) the e5'es are shown in the same relative 

 positions as in the above, but all equal in size, instead of, as here, the front median 

 eyes larger than those of the rear row and the front laterals larger again. 



Thorell, in his 'Ragni di Amboina,' 1878, p. 303, mentioned having received 

 from General Van Hasselt a young female specimen from the locality, which he 

 identified as the above, but proposed for it the new genus Coiiothele. In a very 

 careful description of the female, he makes no mention of any such remarkable hooked 

 spines as are here present on tarsi i. and ii. and on the distal joint of the palp. He 

 gives the front row of eyes as being larger than the rear, but all equal in size, and the 

 fourth pair of legs longer than the first. The present specimen therefore clearly seems 

 to be a diff"erent species. 



At the time when Doleschall wrote his treatise no mygaliform spider was known (or, 

 at any rate, described) with non-horizontally projecting mandibles, such as distinguish 

 those for which the subfamily Miginae was formed. If this was overlooked, both 

 Doleschail's and the present species would rightly belong to the genus Cteniza, in which 

 he placed his species. All the points that he does mention agree so closely with this 

 that I am sure they cannot be separated generically. In this specimen the mandibles 

 are without question perpendicular, and have the sharp-edged fore-part of the mandi- 

 bular fang flattened, which M. Simon quotes as a distinctive feature of the Miginae, 

 suggesting that it is used for cutting the bark wherein most of their nests are built. 



Mr. Pocock's C. arhoricola has the mandible subvertical and makes its nest in trees. 

 From his description his species is evidently very close to this, but has only 6 cusps on 

 the front of the lip instead of 10 there and 5 more below, 6 teeth on the outer 

 margin of the falx-sheath instead of 5 only, and the fourth pair of legs longer than the 

 third instead of the same length. 



Mr. Pocock's species has almost exactly the same small amount of rake on the front 

 of the mandible as the present species, which is less than that on the lip, and this 

 is probably the reason for Conothele not having been taken out of the CtenizidEe 

 before — the two families running almost into one another. 



The shape of the mandible and fang must, however, be very much more important 

 than the slight amount of rake existent on them. I have no hesitation in now placing 

 the genus among the Miginae, where, in view of the shape of tibia iii., it comes into the 

 group Myrtaleae. 



The size of the front row of eyes clearly distinguislies the species from C. malayana 

 Dol. 



