244 



"Femina" : 



?1845. XYSTICUS LANIO C. Koch, Die Arachn., XII, p. 77 (ad part.:) Tab. 



CCCCXIV, fig. 1012. 

 ?1861. Thomisus calcaratus Westr. Aran., Suec, p. 420. 



Of the spider which Westring describes as "27i. audix , and 

 which appears to me to be the female of X. calcaralus, see next pre- 

 ceding species, Thorn, calcaralus Westr. 



The male, that Westring, though with an interrogation, has 

 referred to his Th. audax, is, as well as the female described by 

 him as n Var. b" of "Th. audax", identical with Th. Inctuosns Blackw., 

 of which Cambridge has kindly sent me English specimens. I have 

 in Rec. crit. Aran., loc cit., described this species under the name 

 of X. convexus, but without any certain knowledge of the female be- 

 longing to it, which however I have since met with in several places. 

 Like the male, the female is of a darker colour than X cristatus 

 and X. Kochii (X. viaticus C. Koch), more speckled, with the fore- 

 head less abruptly truncated, somewhat shorter legs and an entirely 

 different form of the vulva: this organ has the form of a semicir- 

 cular or transversal, large and deep fovea, rounded off in front and 

 open behind, which is continued backwards by a narrower depres- 

 sion, exhibiting two longitudinal, more or less conspicuous, black spots. 

 The cephalothorax is of a greyish or dark brown, marbled with paler 

 spots towards the sides; the pale middle band has the form of a T 

 or a fork, which between its two anterior, short, prongs (which are 

 continued forwards as fine lines) encloses the usual dark, in this 

 species rather short, spot on the pars cephalica. The legs are usu- 

 ally dark brown, more or less thickly covered with greyish white 

 spots or points, as indeed is the greatest part of the body. The 

 central portion of the longitudinal dorsal band of the abdomen is in 

 general altogether absent, and this band is then represented only 

 by a double row of narrow, whitish transverse spots on a greyish 

 brown ground; these spots are usually black- or brown-edged behind, 

 and 2-4 on each side. The pale band round the upper side of 

 the abdomen is also often wanting. The female is very similar to 

 X. fucatus (Walck.) , in which however the forehead is more strongly 

 rounded, the whole body, legs and cephalothorax as well as abdo- 

 men (the latter especially towards the sides), thickly covered with 

 short, very coarse bristles, the spines on the legs shorter and stronger, 

 etc. — On X. fucatus see more farther on under Th. setosus Westr. 



