134 IlOliX EXPEDITION — NARRATIVE. 



Take the clay-paiis aljuut Alice Springs for exaiiiple during the past three 

 seasons. Apus appears to have always heen present at the right time. Once, 

 three years ago, Liiiuiadopsii s<]uirt'i was abundant and has ntit heen seen since 

 though carefully searched for ; Estlieria pachardi uii the other hand is always 

 present and pi'rsists in its three varieties, %'ar. typica, cdiicc/Ia/a and iiii)i<)r, as long 

 as muddy pools remain. Liiiiiiadopsis tatci has not yet Ijeen found 



j\.t Charlotte Waters and in tlie neighbourhood Apus is always to be found 

 for a short time ; Estlieria packardi in al)undance and Est/teria lutraria may be 

 relied upon. 



Last year (1895) Liiuiiadopsis sqiiirci and L. tatci were found but have not 

 apparently j>ut in their appearance this year (liSOG), whilst a recent gathering 

 made by Mr. Byrne contains n niAv species of Limnadia which was certainly not 

 to be found in the clay-pools there during the previous year. Of course tlie forms 

 not met with in the pools searched may be and probably are developed el.sewliere, 

 but it shows how certain forms arc^ dominant and seems to suggest a greater power 

 of adaptability on their part to such intluences perhaps as variation in length of 

 drought and it is at the same time worth noting that the constantly recurring, 

 dominant forms, e.;^., Apus and Estlieria spp., are just those which have bright red 

 blocjd, whilst the forms of irregular occurrence, Euliminadia- and Linuiadopsis spj)., 

 are strongly contrasted with the former wiien the two .series are swimming about 

 together Ijy the absence of red blood and their general pale colour. 



The stall' at Alice Springs was considei'ahly interested in the "barking" spider 

 as it was called, tiiough the word booming better expresses the natui'e of the sounel 

 which it was supposed to make. The -a^xiX^x- {Phloi^iiis crassi/cs) was found without 

 any dilliculty by tlie Ijlacks close to the station, where in haid sandy ground it 

 makes its burrows. Each of these is aljout an inch in diameter and goes down in 

 a slanting direction for about two fetit, when it temninates in a little more or less 

 spherical chamber in which ai'e the remains of Ijeetles and a small amount of 

 webbing and in which the animal remains during the day time. There is no 

 protective covering for the hole on the surface. 



In addition to listening at night close Ijy the burrows in whicli we knew the 

 sjjider was living, and to keeping it alive in captivity in variously shaped 

 receptacles some of which were made S(j as to lesendjle as nearly as possible tiie 

 shape of the burrow with its swollen termination, Mr. Besley, a member of tlie 

 station stalF, and myself Hj)ent a nigiit out in the bush in a spot wiiere it was 

 plentiful, hoping to settle the question. 



