110 AXXALS XEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIEXCES 



In view of the careful work done on St. Vincent, it is not likely that 

 its number of families will be greatly increased. It lacks Dictpiidae, but 

 this family is in the Greater Antillean list only by reason of a specimen 

 from Guane, Cuba. It lacks (Ecobiidae. of which Ave found a species on 

 Mona, but the family is otherwise unknoA^^i in the Antilles. Simon be- 

 lieves the species we found on Mona to be carried by commerce. It is 

 curious that it should be on Mona. where there is almost no commerce, and 

 not on St. Vincent, where there is a great deal. 3Iimetida? are now known 

 from Cuba and Porto Eico but not St. Vincent. They do not seem to be 

 common even on the first mentioned islands as they had not previously 

 been recorded and we have but one locality for each island. Finally, 

 Pisauridae, although not common, are recorded from all the Greater An- 

 tilles and from Vieques but from none of the Lesser. As they are, for 

 the most part, rather large spiders, this is probably not due to defective 

 collecting. It is probably one of those defects in distribution which are 

 likely, when properly understood, to give us most valuable clues to the 

 larger problems involved. 



DISTEIBUTIOX OF GEXEEA 



As a rule, family is somewhat too large a group to l)e of much value in 

 a discussion of distribution and species is too small and uncertain, being 

 not only no less human than other taxonomic groups but even more 

 likely to be based on geographic range — the very thing we would like t<) 

 use it to study. Accordingly genus seems the most favorable group to 

 consider intensively. 



The two Cohors of Petrunkevitch — Araneus and Dendnjpliantes — will 

 be left out of consideration and also the following genera: Ischnocolus, 

 My gale, Blechroscelis, Teutana, Agohardus, Pholcus and Hasarius. The 

 first two are not considered good genera : the next three are recorded from 

 ^^West Indies" without further data ; and the last two are said to be found 

 throughout the tropical countries but no West Indian records are known. 



Lesser Antilles 



There are 108 genera of which 5^1: or just 50 per cent, are not known 

 from the Greater Antilles. Seven, or 6.5 per cent., are peculiar to the 

 Lesser Antilles. Ischnothyreus is not known elsewhere in America but 

 is found in western Africa, Ceylon and the Philippines. Likewise, Corin- 

 nomma is knoAvm elsewhere only in Africa, eastern tropical Asia, Ceylon, 

 Malasia, Papuasia, Philippines and Australia. In addition to the seven 

 mentioned above there are 40 others which are not found in the Old 



