58 ON SOME RARE ARACHNIDS 



for the species. Mr. Simcoe piloted me to a certain rather 

 old greenhouse filled with tropical plants, such as Crotons, 

 Tradescantias, etc. In this house I found one or two adult 

 males, six or -eight adult females, and many immature 

 examples. The temperature of this hothouse ranges from 75° 

 to 95° in summer, and from 55° to 65° in winter. It has, 

 however, been known to go down as low as 48° without pre- 

 sumably injuring the spiders much. Most of the exotic plants 

 reach Dickson's nurseries via the Continent, and Mr. Simcoe 

 informs me that no direct importation from the tropics has 

 been placed in that house for a very long time, if at all. In 

 December Mr. Bagnall sent me a female and several immature 

 specimens from a hothouse at Kew Gardens in London. The 

 temperature of this house was about 75° on the occasion that 

 he visited it. In the Chester locality the spiders were found 

 running on the flower pots and benches, amongst the tan that 

 strews the latter, and inside the flower pots on the stalks of 

 the plants. They are exceedingly fleet of foot, and their 

 movements somewhat resemble those of our indigenous 

 Oonops pulcher(Te.rs\-^\.) That is to say, they consist of a series 

 of rapid dashes made in different directions with momentary 

 halts between. 



The genus Ischnothyreus has a very wide range, as it is 

 known to occur in the West Indies, West Africa, Ceylon, and 

 the Philippine Islands. It is divided into several groups. One 

 of these is the group of /. aculeahis (Sim.) to which the present 

 species belongs. There are three other species in this group, 

 of which /. aculeatus (Sim.) inhabits the Philippine Islands, 

 and the other two Ceylon. Of these /. lymphaseus (Sim.) is 

 distinguished by its much smaller size and its large dorsal 

 scutum covering the whole abdomen. M. Simon* records the 

 fact that this spider and another exotic Oonopid occur in the 

 greenhouses of the Paris Museum, where they appear ac- 

 climatised. /. bipartitus (Sim.) has the dorsal scutum bisected 

 by a dark-coloured transverse band. The present species is 

 closely allied to /. aculeatus (Sim.), but the males can be 



* Histoire Naturelle des Araigne'es, vol, ii., Supplement G&eral, p. 983. 



