84 



well as the preceding, is a very beautifully shaped insect, the abdomen is, as 

 generally seen from above, perfectly spherical, like a " number one" shot, very 

 glossy. The legs are compact, not straggling. It is found amongst dead wood 

 in a garden, and, with a slight web, amongst the rafters of an out-building or 

 loft. The natives have no distinguishing name for either variety, they are 

 both called Katipo, to distinguish them from the Punga-were-were, or common 

 Spider. 



I have never heard of a case of bite from one of this kind, but the 

 natives say that they are equally venomous with the spotted variety. I am 

 convinced that the one with the red spot, indicates a different variety, and is not 

 the result of age or sex, as among hundreds of the black kind I never saw a 

 spotted one. 



There is no doubt but that several of the Arachnidae are of a poisonous 

 character, that their mandibles are furnished with a curved claw, perforated at 

 the extremity something like the poison-fang of a venomous snake, and used 

 for a similar purpose. A gland furnishes a secretion which is forced through 

 these organs, and is injected into any object that may be wounded by the 

 sharp claw. The fluid which is secreted for the service of the fangs is nearly 

 colourless, and is found to possess most of the properties that exist in the 

 venom of the i-attle-snake, or viper. 



It is certain that the bite of a moderate-sized Spider will kill a house-fly 

 in a few seconds. Without believing all the stories that have been told of the 

 Tarantula, it is certain that its bite is poisonous, — that it is of a character 

 similar to that of the Katipo. Dr. Graperon states, that he saw two cases 

 in which the bite of the Tarantula proved fatal in the Crimea, — one in forty- 

 eight hours, the other in six days. The wound, which was inflicted on the 

 patient's neck, was very painful, and had left a brownish- violet mark ; the 

 head, neck, and shoulders were swollen ; from the clavicle to the false ribs was 

 of a bluish colour, and respiration became difficult forty-four hours after the 

 injury. Scarifications, the actual cautery, oil externally and internally, and 

 ammonia, were all employed in vain. A comparison of the symptoms in this 

 case with those exhibited by Huff, will surely bear me out in the conclusion, 

 that the poisons are similar, at least in their effect. 



Art. XII. — On four Fishes commonly found in the River A von ; 

 toith a consideration of the question : " What is Whitebait 1 " By 

 Ll. Powell, M.R. C.S.St. A. 



[Bead before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, December 2, 1869.] 



I venture to hope that an attempt to settle the vexed question, ' r What is 

 Whitebait 1 " will not be unprofitable. The fish, in question, is one of the 

 most important of our fresh- water fishes, and forms a very agreeable variation 

 in our somewhat-restricted colonial diet. A similar question has been raised, 

 from time to time, regarding the English Whitebait, which has been looked 

 upon as the young of the Sprat, the Shad, and the Herring. Naturalists are 

 now, however, tolerably well agreed that it is an adult fish of a distinct 

 species ; and it appears amongst the Clupeidse under the name of Clupea alba. 

 The New Zealand Whitebait has no affinity with the English fish, whose name 

 it bears, not belonging to the same family, even ; and the question at issue is this, 

 "Is the V/kitebait an adult fish, or the young of some other species 1 if the latter, 

 what is its adult form 1" Attempts have been made to solve the doubt, by 

 keeping Whitebait in confinement, so that they might develope under 

 observation, but these experiments have always been performed without 



