406 ME. E. I. POCOCK ON THE 



smallest, the rest are very long, but the fourth and sixth, are a 

 little shorter than the rest ; its lower edge armed with 2 long 

 and 3 or 4 shorter spines. Mmius armed above with 3 spines, 

 of which the second is much the longest, and some spinules ; its 

 lower edge armed with 1 long spine in the middle and 1 very 

 much shorter one in front and behind it. 



Legs thickly granular. 



Measurements of largest specimen : — 



Total length 34 mm., length of carapace along the middle 

 line 12, its greatest length 14, width 19 ; length of abdomen 22,. 

 of humerus 15, of brachium 16*5, of manus and dactylus 13. 



This species is very widely distributed in the northern parts 

 of the Neotropical Eegion. The British Museum has examples 

 from the following "West Indian islands : — Cuba, Jamaica, 

 Hayti, Bahamas, Montserrat, Martinique, Dominica {Nicliolls), 

 St. Lucia {Bamage), St. Vincent {S. H. Smith), Barbados (if. 

 W. Feildeoi), and Trinidad. It has also been recorded from 

 Porto Eico {Karscli), St. Bartholomew {ThorelV), and Antigua 

 (Brown). 



In his recent revision of this family, M. Simon characterizes 

 the genus Tarantula, of which reniformis (Linn.) is the type; 

 but it seems to me certain that he has fallen into error in his 

 identification of reniformis of Linn., aud also in his diagnosis of 

 the genus. 



He states that Liunseus's description of reniformis can be 

 applied to all the species of the family Tarantulidse, and that 

 Linnaeus himself assigns the New World as its locality ; conse- 

 quently it is permissible to suppose that reniformis is the species 

 which most often comes to us from Tropical America. 



But Linuseus was very much more precise in this matter than 

 M. Simon makes out ; for in the tenth edition of the ' Systema ' 

 it is expressly stated that the description of reniformis is based 

 upon the figure and description of a Tarantula published in 

 Brown's ' History of Jamaica,' and this island is mentioned as the 

 home of the species. As a matter of fact, upon this latter point 

 Linnaeus asserted more than he had warrant for; for Brown 

 remarks that he had never seen the species in Jamaica, although 

 it occurred in several of the West Indian Islands (Sugar Islands); 

 his figure, he adds, was taken from a specimen from Antigua, 

 which was lent to him by a friend. Now this figure, with its 

 robust and short palpi, clearly represents the species that I have 



