105 



one group, as is now done by most Arachnologists, under the 

 generic name Erigone. The time approaches when a revision of 

 the whole group will be a necessity. I have myself been, 

 for a long time, collecting notes for such a revision, which is 

 delayed, chiefly, by the difficulty of obtaining the females of very 

 many of the numerous species. Here, therefore, it must suffice 

 to catalogue them within the generic limits adopted by Mr. 

 Blaekwall, some years ago, in his work on British Spiders. 



With regard to the generic characters of Neriiine it is enough, 

 here, to mention that the eyes are in two curved rows, forming a 

 transverse, oval, or oblong-oval figure; or in four pairs, of which the 

 two lateral, and the fore-central pairs have their eyes, respec- 

 tively, contiguous (or very nearly so) to each other. The legs are 

 generally slender, of moderatelength, relatively 1.4.2. 3., or 4. 1.2. 3., 

 furnished, almost always, with hairs and slender bristles only. 

 In a few instances some strong bristles or fine spines are present, 

 and in one instance there[are some decided spines on the legs of the 

 first two pairs. The legs of the male sometimes diffor, in their 

 relativelength, from those of the female. The maxillee are short or 

 of moderate length, tolerably strong, in one group greatly enlarged 

 where the palpi are inserted, and, generally, strongly inclined 

 towards the labium, which is short and of a somewhat semi-circular 

 form. Some few male spiders, of this genus,have eminences, cr pro- 

 tuberances on the caput ; but in no case are the eyes placed upon, 

 or around the eminence; others have the caput generally 

 raised, in a more or less rounded, or convex form, while 

 others have merely the ocular area a little projecting ; 

 and, excepting in a few cases, there is, in the 

 females, but little difference, when looked at sideways, in the level 

 of the thorax and caput. In fact, one of the great obstacles in 

 the way of a satisfactory subdivision of these small spiders into 

 genera, is the groat similarity of the females to each other ; while 

 the males, generally, differ so considerably, in several structural 

 features, as to make it quite easy, not only to distinguish the 

 species, but to indicate several good generic groups among them. 



The spiders of this group are found on low plants, bushes, and 



