220 
LINYPHIIDiE. 
Linyphia cauta. PI. XY, fig. 145. 
Linyphia cauta , Blackw., Linn. Trans., vol. xviii, p. 655. 
— —■ Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. ix, 
p. 15. 
— — Walck., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt., tom. iv, p. 499. 
Length of the female, ^ths of an inch ; length of the cephalo-thorax, -th, breadth, ^th ; 
breadth of the abdomen, ^th; length of an anterior leg, ^ths ; length of a leg of the third 
pair, ith. 
The eyes are seated on black spots; the four intermediate ones form a trapezoid whose 
anterior side is the shortest, and those of each lateral pair are placed obliquely on a tubercle 
and are almost contiguous; the posterior eyes of the trapezoid are much the largest, and the 
anterior ones, which are seated on a protuberance, are the smallest of the eight. The 
cephalo-thorax is convex, glossy, compressed before, rounded on the sides, with a large 
indentation in the medial line, and some long hairs on the anterior part, directed forwards ; 
it is of a yellowish-brown colour, with black margins, and a band of the same hue, whose 
anterior extremity is greatly enlarged, extending along the middle. The falces are powerful, 
conical, armed with teeth on the inner surface, and inclined towards the sternum, which is 
heart-shaped, glossy, and sparingly clothed with long, erect hairs. The maxillae are strong, 
straight, somewhat quadrate, having the exterior angle, at the extremity, curvilinear, and are 
very convex underneath. The lip is semicircular and prominent at the apex. The falces 
and maxillae are of a brown colour faintly tinged with red, and the sternum and lip have a 
brownish-black hue, the latter being paler at the tip. The legs are long, provided with 
hairs and fine, erect spines, and have a yellowish-brown tint, with brownish-black annuli ; 
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 resemble the legs in colour, and 
have a slightly curved and minutely dentated claw at their extremity. The abdomen is 
oviform, glossy, thinly clothed with hairs, very convex above, projecting over the base of the 
cephalo-thorax ; it is of a yellowish-brown hue, freckled with small, whitish spots, which are 
fewer and more minute on the under part; some large, brownish-black blotches occur near 
the anterior extremity of the upper part, and between them and the spinners there are 
numerous transverse, curved lines of the same hue, whose convexities are directed forwards; 
the sides have a brownish-black tint, with an irregular, longitudinal, yellowish-brown band, 
spotted with white, extending along the middle ; the spinners have a brown hue, and at the 
base of the inferior pair there are three confluent, yellow spots; a small, cylindrical, semi¬ 
transparent process is connected with the anterior part of the sexual organs, within the 
external orifice; and the colour of the branchial opercula is pale-yellow. 
The male differs from the female in the following particulars ; it is rather smaller, 
darker coloured, and the anterior part of its cephalo-thorax, where the eyes are seated, is 
more elevated. The cubital and radial joints of its palpi are short; the former has a long 
