Mr. Blackwall's Descriptions of new Species of Spiders. 629 



I'ior ones are curved and pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected near 

 its base. Tiie palpi iiave a curved, pectinated claw at their extremity. 

 Abdomen very convex above, projecting over the base of the cephalo- 

 thorax ; it is thinly covered vi^ith long, coarse hairs, and is variegated 

 with black, red, and white ; on the upper part, rather nearer the anterior 

 than the posterior extremity, are two tubercles, which are black in front, 

 and pale yellowish white behind ; the prevailing tint of the part before 

 the tubercles is black, and of that behind them, which comprises two 

 transverse, black streaks connected in the middle, red. Plates of the 

 spiracles yellow. Sexual organs reddish brown ; a small process con- 

 nected with their anterior part is directed backwards, and on each side 

 of its extremity is a minute, glossy convexity of a deeper shade. 



Theridion callens, which has a close affinity to the Theridion aphane of 

 Walckenaer, constructs a very remarkable cocoon of a balloon-shape, mea- 

 suring about ^th of an inch in diameter ; it is composed of soft silk of a slight 

 texture, and a pale brown colour, enclosed in a loose, irregular network of 

 strong, dark red-brown silk ; several of the lines composing this network are 

 united near the apex of the cocoon, leaving intervals there through which the 

 young spiders pass when they quit it, and, being agglutinated together through- 

 out the remainder of their length, form a slender stem, varying from x^ih to \ 

 of an inch in length, by which the cocoon is attached to the under surface of 

 stones and fragments of rock, appearing by its figure and erect position like a 

 small fungus or some minute production belonging to the vegetable kingdom. 

 The eggs are very large, considering the small size of the spider, five or six in 

 number, spherical, not agglutinated together, and are of a brown colour. I 

 have not been able to procure an adult male of this species, which frequents 

 woods in the west of Denbighshire. 



' ■ Genus Walckenaera*, Blackw. 

 16. IValckenaera punctata. Cephalo-thorace sternoque punctatis cum raan- 



* For the characters of this genus, see the London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and 

 Journal of Science, vol. iii. pp. 105-6 ; and Researches in Zoology, pp. 314-15. Subsequently to the 

 publication of these characters, M. Koch has constituted the genus Micryphantes with species belong- 

 ing to the genus Walckenaera, See his Uebersicht des Arachn. Syst. p. 1 1 . 



4 N 2 



