392 



ARACHNIDA ARANEAE 



is not represented in this country, but one species, F. testacea, has 

 an extremely wide distribution in the Old World, while F. capitata 

 extends throughout the American continent. 



The calamistrum of the female is short, only occupying a 

 portion of the metatarsus of the fourth leg. The cribellum is 

 divided, These spiders weave a web of close texture, of an 

 irregular tubular form. 



Fam. 5. Oecobiidae (Urocteidae). — Two \evj remarkable 

 genera constitute this family, Oecobius and Uroctea. 



The species of Oecobius, about fifteen in number, are small 

 spiders, inhabiting subtropical countries — and especially desert 

 regions — and spinning a slight web under stones, or in holes in 



FiG. 204. — A, Oecoiius nmculatus, much enlarged ; B, Uroctea durandi, 

 slightly enlarged. (After Simon. ) 



walls. The female possesses a small transverse cribellum, the two 

 halves of which are widely separated. The calamistrum is but 

 feebly developed. No example has occurred in this country, but 

 nine species have been described in the Mediterranean region. 



The three species of Uroctea are rather large spiders, two being 

 native to Africa, while the third inhabits China and Japan. They 

 are ecribellate. These two genera very closely resemble each 

 other, not only superficially, but in certain structural details — 

 notably the remarkably developed and two-jointed anal tubercle — 

 and their close affinity supplies the strongest argument against 

 separating the spiders which possess cribellum and calamistrum 

 into a group by themselves. In both genera the cephalothorax 

 is very broad and rounded at the sides. The eight eyes are 

 compactly arranged. The sternum is broad and heart-shaped. 



