10 Froceedings of the Royal Iri^h Academy. 



lately (especially in Australia), those spiders have been subdivided into 

 several more or less well-marked genera by Dr. T. Thorell, and Dr. L. 

 Koch ; to one of these genera, Isopeda (L. Koch), the fine spider- 

 above described appears to belong. The genus Sarotes, Sund., now 

 comprises a restricted group, of which the type is the widely dispersed 

 and common species S. regius, Fabr. = Olios leucosius, Walck.] . 



Genus Sparassus, Walch. 

 SpAiiASSTJS GriTATrs, n. sp. [Leiocranum, L.Koch]. Plate 1, fig. 8. 



Length of an immature female, ^th of an inch ; length of the ccph- 

 alothorax, xg- ; breadth, -i\- ; breadth of the abdomen, ^tr ; length of an 

 anterior leg, ^ ; length of a leg of the third pair, i. 



The eyes, which are seated on black spots, are disposed on the- 

 anterior part of the cephalothorax in two slightly carved, nearly parallel 

 rows, the posterior row being rather the longer ; the four intermediate 

 eyes form a square ; the two anterior ones are the largest and darkest 

 coloured of the eight, and the two posterior ones are the smallest. The 

 cephalothorax is convex, glossy, compressed before, rounded in front 

 and on the sides, depressed at the anterior part, abruptly so at the 

 base, and has an indentation in the medial line of the posterior region; 

 it is of a brownish-yellow colour, with narrow, dark-brown lateral 

 margins ; a short line is directed backwards from each eye of the 

 posterior row, and a fine one passes obKquely backwards from the 

 extremity of each exterior line till it comes in contact with a medial 

 line whose anterior extremity is the finer, and the sides are marked 

 with spots and short streaks ; these lines, streaks and spots are of a 

 brown colour. The falces are conical, vertical, and armed with a few 

 small teeth at their extremity ; the maxillte are short, rounded at the 

 extremity, and slightly inclined towards the lip, which is broader than 

 long and somewhat quadrate ; and the sternum is broad, convex and 

 heart-shaped. These parts are of a yellowish- white colour, and the 

 falces, which are rather the darkest, have an oblong brown spot at 

 their base, in front. The legs are slender, and do not differ greatly 

 in length ; they are provided with hairs and long sessile spines, two 

 -parallel rows of the latter extending along the inferior surface of the 

 tibise and metatarsi of the first and second pairs, and are of a dull- 

 yellowish colour, tinged with brown, the metatarsi of the posterior 

 legs having a dark-brown annulus at their base and extremity ; the 

 first pair is rather the lougest, the fourth pair slightly sui-passes the 

 second, and the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated 

 by two curved, minutely pectinated claws, below which there is a 

 small scopula. The palpi resemble the legs in colour, and have a 

 slender, curved, slightly pectinated claw at their extremity. The 

 abdomen is ovifoi'm, pointed at the spinners, moderately convex above, 

 and projects a little over the base of the cephalothorax ; it is of a 



