118 
DRASSIDiE. 
Drassus micans. PI. VI, fig. 72. 
Drassus micans, Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., third series, vol. i, p. 430. 
Length of the male, |th of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, T ’ 5 th, breadth, ^th; 
breadth of the abdomen, 5 \th; length of a posterior leg, jth; length of a leg of the third 
pair, gth. 
The cephalo-thorax is oval, slightly compressed before, somewhat rounded in front, 
convex, glossy, with slight furrows on the sides converging towards a narrow indentation 
in the medial line; it is thinly clothed with short, hoary hairs, which are most abundant on 
the anterior part, and has three oblique rows of white hairs on each side, which converge 
towards its middle; the falces are conical, vertical, with a slight protuberance near the base, 
in front, towards the inner side, and have two very minute teeth on the inner surface; the 
maxillae are powerful, enlarged where the palpi are inserted, gibbous at the base, depressed 
transversely near the middle, rounded at the extremity, with a small, angular projection on the 
outer side, and inclined towards the lip, which is longer than broad, and rounded at the apex; 
the sternum is oval, pointed at its posterior extremity, convex, and glossy. These parts are 
of a red-brown colour, the sternum having obscure, dark-brown streaks directed from the 
lateral margins towards its centre. The eyes are disposed on the anterior part of the cephalo- 
thorax in two short, transverse, curved, concentric rows, whose convexity is directed back¬ 
wards ; the interval between the intermediate eyes of the posterior row is greater than the 
space which separates them from the'lateral ones of the same row, and the intermediate eyes 
of the anterior row are rather the smallest and darkest of the eight. The legs are moderately 
long, provided with hairs, and are of a brownish-yellow colour, with the exception of the 
femora of the first and second pairs, which have a brownish-black hue, and the anterior side 
of the femora of the third and fourth pairs, which has a brown tint; the fourth pair is the 
longest, then the first, and the third pair is the shortest; each tarsus is terminated 
by two plain, curved claws, below which there is a small scopula. The palpi are 
slender, and, with the exception of the humeral joint, which is of a brownish-black 
hue, have a brownish-yellow colour, faintly tinged with red; the cubital and radial joints 
are short, and the latter, which is the larger, projects a small, pointed apophysis from 
its extremity, on the outer side; the digital joint "is of an oblong-oval form, compact and 
pointed at the extremity, convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal 
organs, which are well developed, prominent, not very complex in structure, with a process 
near the middle which is directed forwards, and are of a mingled red-brown and brownish- 
yellow colour. The abdomen is oviform, glossy, clothed with short hairs, convex above, and 
projects a little over the base of the cephalo-thorax; it is of a deep-black hue, but iridescent, 
reflecting bright tints of green, purple, and copper when viewed in a strong light; the 
branchial opercula and the medial line of the under part are of a brown colour, and the 
extremities of the superior and inferior spinners have a somewhat darker shade; there is also 
a curved, transverse line immediately below the branchial opercula, and a small spot just 
above the spinners, which are composed of white hairs. 
