A NEW GENUS AND SPECIES OF THERIDIIDyE 
FROM EASTERN TEXAS (ARANE^E) 1 
By Elizabeth B. Bryaht 
Museum of Comparative Zoology 
Among some material sent me several years ago, by 
Miss Sarah E. Jones collected by her at Dallas, Texas, 
was a small male spider which particularly attracted my 
attention. Tentatively I placed it in the little known 
genus Umfila Keyserling, (Theridiidae), based on a single 
species from Brazil. Recently, I had the pleasure of 
showing it to Dr. Alexander Petrunkevitch of Yale Uni- 
versity. He kindly called my attention to characters 
which certainly preclude it from that genus and sug- 
gested that a new genus be erected for it. 
Genus Mufila gen. nov. 
Cephalo thorax about as wide as long, anterior margin 
broadly convex, longer than the posterior margin, cephal- 
ic portion rather high, thoracic groove long, in a depres- 
sion; eyes closely grouped, differing little in size, ante- 
rior row slightly recurved, a.m.e. largest of the eight, 
posterior row almost straight, lateral eyes touching; 
guadrangle wider in front and not as high as wide; 
clypeus very high, about three times the height of the 
quadrangle; mouth parts weak; sternum oval, three- 
quarters as wide as long, anterior margin rounded, pos- 
terior margin pointed and extending between the fourth 
coxae; abdomen narrow, pointed above the spinnerets, 
with a corneous ridge at the base which connects with a 
large epigastric scutum; legs, 4-1-2-3, with no spines, 
a tarsal comb of 6 to 7 curved bristles on the fourth 
metatarsus ; palpus large, patella short and much rounded 
on the dorsal side, tibia small. Female not known. 
1 Published with a grant from the Museum of Comparative Zoology at 
Harvard College. 
