THERIDION. 
197 
then the fourth, and the third pair is the shortest; each tarsus is terminated by three claws; 
the two superior ones are curved and pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected near its base; 
the palpi are short, and have a small, curved, pectinated claw at their extremity; the cephalo- 
thorax is small, oval, convex, glossy, very prominent in the cephalic region, and has a slight 
indentation in the medial line; the falces are short and vertical; and the maxillae are some¬ 
what pointed at the extremity and inclined towards the lip. These parts are of a yellow-red 
colour, with the exception of the tibiae of the first and second pairs of legs, the extremity of 
the tibiae of the fourth pair, and the narrow, lateral margins of the cephalo-thorax, which 
have a dark-brown hue. The lip is semicircular, and the sternum is convex and heart- 
shaped. These parts are of a brown colour, tinged with red. The eyes are disposed on the 
anterior prominence of the cephalo-thorax in two transverse rows; the four intermediate ones 
form a square, those of the anterior pair, which are seated on a strong protuberance, being 
the largest and darkest of the eight; the eyes of each lateral pair are placed obliquely on a 
small tubercle, and are contiguous. The abdomen is oviform, glossy, convex above, pro¬ 
jecting over the base of the cephalo-thorax, and is of a brown-black colour; the sexual 
organs have a small, circular, reddish-brown orifice; the branchial opercula are of a red- 
brown hue; and that of the spinners is pale, yellow-brown. Some individuals have the 
abdomen of a brown colour, slightly tinged with yellow. 
The sexes are similar in colour, but the male is smaller than the female, and the anterior 
part of its cephalo-thorax is more prominent. The cubital and radial joints of its palpi are 
short, and the latter is somewhat produced at its extremity, towards the inner side; the 
digital joint is oval, convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs, 
which are highly developed and prominent; these organs and the joint with which they are 
connected are of a red-brown colour. 
Adult and immature males and females of this species were captured in the autumn of 
1859 and the summer of 1860, in Portland, by the Rev. O. P. Cambridge. 
Theridion fuscum. 
Theridion fuscum, Blackw., Linn. Trans., vol. xviii, p. 626. 
_ _ Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. viii, 
p. 445. 
Length of the female, TB th of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, ^>nd, breadth, ®th; 
breadth of the abdomen, ^th; length of an anterior leg, -,-oth; length of a leg of the third 
pair, ^th. 
This spider is of a dark, reddish-brown colour, the abdomen being marked with obscure 
spots of a deeper shade. The cephalo-thorax is glossy, compressed before, rounded on the 
sides, which are marked with furrows, very convex immediately behind the eyes, depressed in 
the posterior region, with a large indentation in the medial line. The four intermediate eyes 
form a trapezoid, whose anterior side is much the shortest, and those of each lateral pair are 
contiguous, and placed obliquely; the posterior eyes of the trapezoid are the largest, and the 
