320 



ARACHNOIDEA, 



CASE from the mandibles may be an error of the draughtsman, 

 produced by attempting to show them more clearly. 



Accepting then Dr. Maddox's 

 species as belonging to the genus 

 Otonyssus, and taking his charac-' 

 ters as the true ones where they 

 are positive, and ignoring cha- 

 racters not mentioned on either 

 Palpus of otonyssus stichoiasius. side, wc find that the Only family 



Copied from Kolenati's figure. i • i ,1 -t 



which possesses the same charac- 

 ters is the Sarcoptidae. The five-jointed legs, the three-jointed 

 adpressed palpi, the mouth with a camerostome, and the striated 

 surface, all are characters of that family and that family only, 

 and the form of the legs and claws are those of the section of 

 it to which the mouse-parasite Myobia belongs. It holds out 

 a hand to the Pteroptidse in the form of its hairs, and to Glyci- 

 phagus in that of its bristles, and it may be the connecting link 

 between them and the true Sarcoptidse respectively, although it 

 may be said that there is no more reason why Otonyssus should 

 be alHed to Pteroptus because they have got hairs on the same 

 plan, than that both or either should be allied to the bats them-' 

 selves, which have them too. 



We have said that its mouth has the camerostome of the Sar- 

 coptidas \ but this gives rise to a question that has puzzled us a 

 good deal, namely, the true meaning of Dr. Maddox's figure of 

 the mouth. We have given an exact copy of it so that the reader 

 can judge for himself whether we interpret it aright. In the first 

 place Dr. Maddox has not said whether the mouth is represented 

 from above or below ; but the context and a portion of the back 

 figured along with it (which, we have not thought it necessary to 

 reproduce), shew that it is meant to represent it as seen from 

 above. But if so it seems to us physically impossible that it can 

 be correct. It makes the opening of the mouth to lie upwards, 

 although the beast sticks on, and feeds venti'e a ferre, and it puts 



