JOUENAL 



OP THE 



ASIATIC SOCIETY, 



Part II.— PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 



No. IV.— 1869. 



Contribution towards the knowledge of Indian Arachnoidea ; 

 by F. Stoliczka, Esq., Ph. D., F. G-. S. &g. 



(With plates XVIII— XX.) 



[Received 7th April, read 5th May, 1869.] 



With the exception of the Ccelenterata, and probably the Crusta- 

 cea, few other branches of Indian Zoology have received so little 

 attention as the Arachnoidea. It is really surprising to see, how 

 very few species of Indian Arachnoids there are recorded in the 

 leading works on the subject by Walkenaer (Apteres) and Koch 

 (Die Arachniden &c), when compared with the great number from 

 other foreign countries, which one would suppose to be in this respect 

 much less known than India. Walkenaer's descriptions of the Indian 

 new species are, besides, often insufficient, to be of much use ; they are 

 generally too short for the purpose of specific identification. A good 

 number of Ceylon and some Indian Arachnoidea have been, however, 

 carefully described by Koch. Those of the Indian Dutch possessions 

 were, to a large extent, worked out by Dr. Doleschall ,m\ the Mauritius 

 and Madagascar species have been monographed by Vinson. Several 

 additions to this fauna were also lately made by Count Keyscrling, 

 Blackwall, and others. 



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