1962] 
Brady — Sosippus 
63 
with tufts of white hair intermixed with dark brown dots on a lighter 
brown background. Venter light brown. 
Male. The pattern in the male is very similar to that of the female. 
There are fewer black hairs over the body and in over-all appearance 
the male is more brown than the female, which appears dark gray 01- 
even black. 
Diagnosis . Sosippus texanus is most similar to S. mimus in colora- 
tion. The white spots and chevrons on the abdomen of S. texanus are 
usually more distinct. Sosippus texanus is also larger (see Table 1) 
and slightly darker than S. mimus. The male palpal organs are very 
similar, but the females are readily separated by differences in the 
epigyna (compare Figs. 21, 22 to Figs. 14-17). 
Natural History. Specimens of S. texanus were collected and 
observed in the field at Goose Island State Park. This is a peninsular 
area of dry sandy soil, characterized by dense stands of Live Oak 
(Quercus virginiana) . Sosippus texanus was collected in an area at 
the edge of a clearing from conspicuous funnel webs with tubular 
retreats running under logs and holes in the ground. The sheets of 
these funnel webs were not as extensive as those observed in Agelenop- 
sis. Sosippus texanus was also collected from funnel webs at the base 
of the trunks of these trees. Again the sheet portion of the webs was 
not highly developed. The emphasis upon the tubular portion of the 
webs may have been due to their situation, especially those webs at the 
base of trees. 
The spider rests at the mouth of the funnel and rushes forth with 
great speed to grab insects that have touched the sheet portion of the 
web. The prey consists chiefly of grasshoppers and ground beetles that 
have fallen upon or run across the lines of radiating silk forming the 
sheet. Upon grabbing the insect the spider retreats rapidly into the 
tubular portion of the funnel so that the struggles of the victim are 
impeded. 
Spiders whose retreats dead-end into a hole or crevice construct a 
second short tube that they utilized for an escape exit. Most spiders 
seemed to have escape exists running off at angles from the main tube 
rather than having an exit directly to the rear. 
Several spiders from this locality were reared to maturity and were 
observed for several months. One spider kept in a cardboard box, 
provided with sand and sticks for a retreat, constructed a funnel web 
like that found in the field at the base of Live Oak trees. This web is 
shown in the accompanying photograph (Text Fig. 2). 
Distribution. Southern Texas. 
