418 



CRUSTACEOLOGY. 



pressed, obscurely cinereous ; the anterior middle of 

 the anterior margin of the thorax with a strong eleva- 

 ted spine ; the abdomen with a quadruple row or se- 

 ries of tubercles ; the apex armed with four teeth ; the 

 tarsi of the second pair of feet with about seventeen 

 joints. 



Pkalangium quadrideittatum, Cuvier, Fabricius, La- 

 treille. 



Inhabits the south of France; is found under stones, 

 and, according to Latreille, is rare in the environs of 

 Paris. 

 Bimacula. Sp, 5. Bimaculatum. Body bluish-black, with two 

 i urn. white spots ; the tarsi somewhat clubbed at their ex- 



tremities. 



Pkalangium bimaculatum, Fabricius, Donovan, Her- 

 mann. 



Inhabits Europe. In this country it very frequent- 

 ly occurs under stones during the whole year ; is more 

 abundant in Scotland than in England. 

 25. Galeo- Genus XXV. Galeodes, Oliv. Lam. Latr. ; Pha- 

 *"• langium, Pallas ; Solpuga, Fab. Herbst. 



Mouth provided with two mandibules and maxillae, 

 with palpi, and an under lip. 



Palpi very large, feet-like and porrect, nearly as long 

 as the hinder feet ; filiform composed of five joints, in- 

 serted on the apex of the maxillae ; the first joint very 

 short ; the three following cylindrical, elongated ; the 

 third and second longer, especially the latter ; the last 

 very short, cylindrico-conical ; the apex rounded, with- 

 out a nail, and somewhat fleshy. 



Mandibulae homy and oval, externally convex, in- 

 ternally plain, bearing two chelae, which are very bare 

 and porrect ; the chela? more horny, very strong, and 

 tooth-shaped, of the length of the mandibules, com- 

 pressed; the apex very acute, arcuated, the internal 

 side strongly toothed. 



Maxillae resembling coxae, short, thick, and cylindri- 

 cal, contiguous at their base, at which point they di- 

 verge ; the internal angle at the apex lengthened into 

 a little conic villose tooth. 



Labium small, horny, compressed, and exserted be- 

 tween the maxillae at the point at which they diverge ; 

 the apex bearing one tooth ; the tooth evident, bent 

 downwards ; the anterior aspect of the lip bearing two 

 small laciniae, with two needle-like, moveable, vilose 

 processes at their point. 



Body elongate, soft, with the skin folded in rings. 



Thorax having its anterior segment large, resembling 

 a head, covered with a hard scutum of a triangular 

 shape, broad before, truncated behind, on which the 

 eyes are placed, the lower part bearing the mouth and 

 anterior pair of feet. 



Abdomen oblong-oval, with eight or nine folds. 



Eyes four, placed on a transverse tubercle in the an- 

 terior part of the thorax ; two larger, opposite, conti- 

 guous, and circle, with the pupil elevated and some- 

 what granular, the iris radiated ; the other two very 

 small, intermediate, below resembling stemmata. 



Feet elongate and filiform (the atrlerior pair except- 

 ed), double or twins being transversely connected at 

 their base ; the tibiae consisting of two elongate joints ; 

 the tarsi short, formed of two or three joints, the last 

 with two filiform ai-ched fingers, armed at their points 

 with homy nails ; the four anterior feet nearly equal 

 and small ; the third pair somewhat longer than the se- 

 cond ; the fourth longest. 



Observation. The upper part of the mandibules at 

 the base of the chelae bearing cirrhi ; body villose ; the 



palpi and feet bearing elongated hairs resembling spinee, 

 taking their origin from a glandular elevation. La- 

 treille says this genus is called Phax by Hermann. 



Sp. 1. Araneoides. Body pale yellow, mixed with Araneei- 

 ash-grey. d6s » 



Pkalangium araneoides, Pallas. 



Solpuga araneoides, Fabr. 



Solpuga arachnoides, Herbst. 



Galeodes araneioides, Latreille. 



Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope ; a variety, or more 

 probably a distinct species, nearly allied to this, occurs- 

 in Russia. 



Family IX. Araneides. 



The animals of this family are familiarly known un«- 

 der the general denomination of Spiders, and, as we 

 have before mentioned, were included by Linne, Fa- 

 bricius, and other authors, in one genus, which they 

 called Aranea. As the species are very numerous, they 

 were obliged to divide them into families, which were 

 distinguished by the situation of their eyes, which in 

 this family are generally eight (sometimes only six) in 

 number, and are immoveable ; they consist of but one 

 lens, which deprives them of the faculty of multiply- 

 ing objects, as their immobility does that of seeing 

 them if placed otherwise than exactly before them ; so 

 that a number of eyes placed on different aspects, is es- 

 sential to enable them to look on every side, to avoid 

 danger and to see their prey. 



As these animals are more interesting than any others 

 in this class, we shall give our readers an account of 

 their economy and habits, as given in the works of Dr 

 Lister, Geoffrey, Pieaumur, Dr Hulse, Lyoneret, Dr 

 Mead, and others. 



Spiders change their skin annually, and their skins 

 are often found in their webs, being dry and transpa- 

 rent, having their mandibules attached to' them. When 

 about to cast their covering, they suspend themselves 

 in some corner, and creep out at a crack which takes 

 place on their back, gradually withdrawing their legs 

 from the skin, as if it were a glove. 



The webs of spiders are too well known to need 

 much description : the mode of weaving these nets is 

 however very interesting. For this purpose, they are 

 provided with five teats or nipples at the extremity of 

 their body, the apertures of Avhich they can dilate or 

 contract at pleasure. Through these holes they emit a 

 gluey matter, which is contained in a bag communica- 

 ting with the teats. They attach the end of their 

 threads by applying their nipples to any substance, and 

 the threads are lengthened as the animal recedes from 

 it, and are immediately hardened from exposure to the 

 air. They can stop the spinning by contracting the 

 nipples, and can ascend the cord they have spun with 

 wonderful facility. The mode of spinning peculiar to the 

 different species, will be particularly noticed when 

 treating of the animals themselves. Some species have 

 the power of darting long threads to an immense dis- 

 tance, by means of which they can convey themselves 

 across rivers or chasms, which has given rise to the 

 vulgar notion of the flight of spiders. Dr Lister re- 

 lates, that, attending minutely to a spider at work 

 weaving its net, he observed it suddenly desist ; and, 

 turning its nipples to the wind, dart out a thread with 

 the violence of a water jet : This thread, taken up by 

 the wind, was carried to some fathoms length, still is- 

 suing from the body of the animal. Some time after 



