20 Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society. 



OCCUEEENCE OF BLIND INSECTS IN SOUTH AFEICA. 



By A. Eaffray. 

 (Eead October 30, 1895.) 



In his presidential address, Dr. Marloth has expressed a regret 

 that caves in South Africa have not been explored with a view to the 

 discovery of such blind and bleached Arthropoda as are so peculiar a 

 feature of the subterranean fauna of Europe and North America. 



Probably Dr. Marloth' s attention was not called to the fact that a 

 French naturalist, Mons. E. Simon, an arachnologist of worldwide 

 repute came to South Africa in 1892 and explored three caves in the 

 Transvaal : one in the Pretoria district and two in Waterberg and 

 Zoutspansberg. The result of his investigations has been published 

 in the ' Annales de la Societe Entomologique de France,' 1894, p. 64. 



Mons. Simon has found in these caves some examples of the 

 classes and orders Thysanoura, Myriopoda, Arachnida, and Coleop- 

 tera. 



In the order Coleoptera he found — 1. Eurychora Simoni, Fairm., 

 a new species belonging to a genus peculiarly abundant in South 

 Africa. This species has normal eyes, but it is light brown instead 

 of black, and the colour thus resembles that of subterranean forms. 

 2. Plagyopyga cyclogona. This species was probably an occasional 

 visitor to the cave. 



In the class Arachnida he found — 1. A Loxosceles, which he 

 declares to be identical with the European species L. speluncarum, 

 Duf., and which, I presume, inhabits European caves ; this spider, 

 however, is not blind. 2. A new genus, Phyxelida makapensis, Sim., 

 belonging to a family which, hitherto, was not known to have cave- 

 inhabiting representatives ; this spider has also minute eyes. 



The other Arthropoda have not yet been identified. 



With the exception of Loxosceles spelwicarum, these Arthropoda 

 cannot be said to belong to a subterranean fauna. 



I should, however, state that animals living in caves are not 

 necessarily always blind or bleached in colour, more especially in 

 the caves of tropical or subtropical countries. 



Some years ago Mons. E. Simon explored some caves in the 

 Philippine Islands, and his discoveries, which were much more 

 numerous there than in South Africa, have been published in the 



