Annals or the Transvaal Museum. 
231 
I diops pretoriae Poc. 
Localities : Skinner’s Court, Lyttelton Junction, Saltpan, and City of 
Pretoria. 
This species is by no means common, only a single specimen being 
found here and there ; but this may be due to their nests being situated 
amongst grass, under the tufts of which our few specimens were quite 
accidentally discovered, or sometimes the lid is disclosed by heavy rains 
which wash away the grass formerly hiding the nests. The lids most 
usually have pieces of straw attached to and covering them and also 
sometimes the rim of the tube ; but in some cases the straw on the lids 
appeared to have been washed off though attached to the rim of the tube. 
On the under side of the lid there are minute tooth or claw marks, usually 
in the middle, but nearer to the hinge than the front. The hinge is very 
broad, almost equal to the breadth of the lid, wdiich is D-shaped when seen 
from above. The tube is short, slanting downwards for the greater part, 
but at the bottom almost horizontal and much wider. This spider is 
more pugnacious than others, furiously attacking, by short rushes, when 
disturbed with a stick of some such object being thrust near to it. It has 
been observed that these spiders are seldom found in close proximity to 
others. They are reddish coloured and the majority are found in reddish 
soil ; whereas /. gunningi is blackish coloured and is most usually found 
in blackish soil ; but either species may, however, be found in opposite 
coloured soil. 
The following are measurements of a typical nest taken at Skinner’s 
Court : — 
Depth of tube 134 mm. 
Width inside at the top of the tube 23 x 21 mm. 
Width at the bottom of the tube 27 J mm. 
Breadth of lid 23J mm. 
Length of lid (front to back) 21 J mm. 
Thickness of lid (without straw) 4£ mm. 
Breadth of hinge 20 mm. 
Idiops gunningi Hewitt. 
Localities : Moselekatsnek, near Zwartspruit, Zwartspruit, and Lyttelton 
Junction. 
Nests of this species were not distinguishable from those of Idiops 
pretoriae , except by their size. 
The following are measurements of a nest taken at Moselekatsnek : — 
Depth of tube 160 mm. 
Width inside at the top of the tube 38 X 35 mm. 
Width at the bottom of the tube 44 mm. 
Breadth of lid 38| mm. 
Length of lid (front to back) 35£ mm. 
Thickness of lid (without straw) 4J mm. 
Breadth of hinge 27 mm. 
