509 



genus Lathrodertus, but rather to Lithyphantes Thor., judging from 

 the position of the eyes and the low clypeus ')• Again as regards 

 L. argus, Duges is probably right; and respecting this form Audotjin 

 himself says loc. cit. that it is "peut-etre une simple varie'td d'age" 

 of Tj. 13-yuttatus. Just such a variety depending upon age (V jun.), 

 L. conglobatus C. Koch appears to me most assuredly to be 2 ). In 

 a full-grown male from Corsica, preserved in spirit of wine, which, 

 together with a normally marked full-grown female from the same 

 place, I have been favoured with by Simon, the colour is very nearly 

 such as in C. Koch's figure of L. conglobatus. The abdomen farthest 

 in front has a white curved line, and after that three rows of white, 

 in the middle greyish (in living specimens probably red) spots, four 

 in each row, of which the first in the middle row is triangular or 

 somewhat rhombish, the last in the same row has the form of a 

 short indented band, which seems to consist of three united spots; 

 all the other spots are rounded. The thighs and tibiae are brownish 

 yellow, broadly black at the extremity, the metatarsi and tarsi al- 



1) Neither is L. ornatus Luc. 1847 (Explor. de l'Alger., Anim. Artie., I, p. 233, 

 PI. 14, fig. 8) a Lathrodectus, but a Lithyphantes , as one may perceive both from 

 the position of the eyes and the structure of the male's palpi. Of this species (no 

 doubt =Phrwol hamatus C. Koch 1839, Die Arachn., VI, p. 105, Tab. CCVI, figg. 

 507, 508) I have myself examined specimens from Egypt. That Lucas was often 

 bitten by this spider without any disagreeable consequences therefore proves no- 

 thing respecting the dangerousness or harmlessnes of the Lar7iro(7ecte-species. 

 Latr. distinct us Blackw. (Descr. of newly disc. Spid. capt. . . . in.. Madeira, in 

 Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., 3 Ser., IV, p. 260 (7)) is certainly also a Lithy- 

 phantes. — Lathrodectus differs from Lithyphantes not only by the lateral eyes 

 being much farther apart in the former than in the latter genus , but by the cly- 

 peus forming, beneath the transverse depression just under the eyes, a coarse, 

 projecting and, when viewed in profile, convex callus in Lathrodectus, which is 

 not the case in Lithyphantes. The palpi of the males are also different in these 

 two genera. As L. Koch has shown (Die Arachn. Austral., p. 280), the mandibles 

 in Lathrodectus coalesce at the base , as in Pholcus etc. ; this is also sometimes 

 the case in Lithyphantes , f. inst. in L. dispar (Duf.) 1. lunatus (C. Koch). 



2) According to Lambotte the colour varies with the age: "les jeunes 

 araignees de l'annee", says he, ''sont d'un noir tres-fonce, brillant, avec des taches 

 rondes d'un blanc eclatant; ces taches sont beaucoup plus grandes que dans un 



age plus avance Lorsqu'elles out pris de l'accroissement, les taches changent 



de formes, les laterales s'allongent trausversalement , les anterieures se reunissent 

 souvent; celles de la ligne mediane affectent ordinaireraent la forme de coeur de 

 carte a jouer, la couleur en est jaune citron ou rouge de minium dans les femel- 

 les, dans les males elles sont d'un rouge vif au centre et plus pale a la circon- 

 ference ; elles sont aussi plus rondes. Le fond n'est plus aussi fonce ni aussi bril- 



