68 Arachnid a. 



were sent by the hands of my brother, for publication in ' The Zoologist.' My own 

 acquaintance with shells is so slight, that I hesitate to draw up a description ; but in 

 proposing for this singular fossil the name of Terehratula Duvallii, I hope the figures 

 will be considered sufficiently precise to establish the species, without the aid of the 

 customary technical characters. I will however venture to invite attention to a strik- 

 ing peculiarity of the larger shell (fig. a), the existence of a perfectly circular aperture 

 through its very centre : and to mention that this character is unknown to Mr. Bow- 

 erbank as existing in any recent or fossil Terebratula, or in any allied genus. Prof. 

 Duval Jouve, believes the lesser shell (fig. d) to be a younger state of the larger (fig. a), 

 and suggests that shells of an intermediate form and size exist, as indicated by the 

 dotted line in fig. e. Certain lines visible on the upper valve of the larger shell, I 

 consider as corroborative of this opinion. In the same figure the outer line is an ex- 

 act outline of the larger, and the inner an exact outline of the lesser shell. The cor- 

 respondence between the two, as regards the central opening, is thus clearly shown. — 

 Edward Neivman ; Peckham, July 17, 1844. 



Anecdote of a Hunting Spider. I was much amused the other day with the pro- 

 ceedings of one of the hunting spiders (Salticus). He was a fine fellow, and very 

 lively; and was running about on a large leaf, apparently on the look out for food. 

 When near the tip of the leaf, a fly alighted at its base : in an instant the spider turn- 

 ed and faced the fly. After steadily pointing for a short time, he sidled off towards 

 the edge of the leaf, but with a motion so slow as to be almost imperceptible, and still 

 keeping his head directed towards the fly. On reaching the edge of the leaf, he quick- 

 ly turned over, and crept along on the under side, every now and then popping up his 

 head to see how near he had got to his intended victim. When he arrived at what he 

 considered a convenient distance, he returned to the upper side of the leaf, and with 

 one bound cleared the distance (nearly two inches) between himself and the fly ; the 

 latter, however, was too quick for him, and flew off at the moment he made his spring, 

 otherwise, so well directed was his aim, that he must have alighted on the fly's back. 

 Poor fellow ! he appeared much ashamed of his failure, and slunk away to the shelter 

 of a leaf which hung down on the one where he had been hunting. — Geo. Luxford ; 

 2, Ebenezer Row, Kennington Lane, August 13, 1844. 



Note on a minute Acarus found on a Moth. I found about thirty specimens of the 

 enclosed odd-looking parasites adhering to the wings of a small common moth, which 

 I captured a few days ago while flying. And not having noticed such an occurrence 

 before, nor seen it mentioned by any author with whom I am acquainted, I have taken 

 the liberty of sending specimens to you, hoping that some of the readers of ' The Zo- 

 ologist,' who may have noticed such an occurrence, would be kind enough to favour 

 me with the name, through the medium of that interesting publication. I found them 

 both on the upper and under side of the wings, but mostly on the under, adhering so 

 pertinaceously as not to be removed without difficulty, and frequently tearing away 

 the scales from the wing in attempting to retain their station. The moth had a rag- 

 ged and unhealthy appearance, and was denuded of scales to a considerable extent. I 

 find that in drying the colour has faded considerably. When alive, the body was 

 blood red, with a spot on the disk, and the legs white. — /. J. Bold ; 24, Cloth.Mar- 

 ket, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, July 17, 1844. 



