LINYPHIA. 
241 
with hairs and a few spines, and of a pale yellowish-brown hue, the thighs having a tinge of 
red; the first pair is the longest, then the second, 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 cubital and radial joints of the palpi are short, 
the latter, which is much the stronger, being produced at the extremity, on the inner side ; 
the digital joint has an irregular oval form; it is convex and hairy externally, concave within, 
comprising the palpal organs, which are highly developed, complicated in structure, with a 
small projection at the upper part, in front, and a large spine which originates at the upper 
part and extends to the termination of the joint, where it is curved into a circular form, the 
extremity projecting a little ; the colour of these organs is dark, reddish-brown. The convex 
sides of the digital joints are directed towards each other. The abdomen is oviform, convex 
above, and projects over the base of the cephalo-thorax ; it is thinly clothed with hairs, glossy, 
and of a brownish-black hue; and the colour of the branchial opercula is pale, yellowish- 
brown. Some individuals have a series of obscure, angular lines of a yellowish-brown 
colour, whose vertices are directed forwards, extending along the middle of the upper part. 
Specimens of Linyphia nigella were found under fragments of rock in woods at Oakland 
in September, 1835 ; they were all males, and had the palpal organs completely developed. 
Linyphia albula. PI. XVII, fig. 161. 
Linyphia albula, Camb., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., third series, vol. vii, p. 435. 
Length of the female, ±th of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, T jth, breadth, Ath; 
breadth of the abdomen, ^th; length of an anterior leg, f 5 ths; length of a leg of the third 
pair, 5 th. 
The cephalo-thorax is oval, convex, glossy, and of a pale, brownish-yellow colour, with 
several obscure, brownish lines in the cephalic region, which meet in an angle at a small 
indentation in the medial line, and obscure rays of the same hue on the sides, which converge 
towards the same point. The eyes are small, and are seated on black spots on the anterior 
part of the cephalo-thorax; the four intermediate ones form a trapezoid whose shortest side 
is before; the eyes of each lateral pair are placed obliquely on a small tubercle, and are con¬ 
tiguous, and the anterior eyes of the trapezoid are the smallest of the eight. The falces are 
powerful, conical, armed with a few teeth on the inner surface, and somewhat inclined 
towards the sternum; and the maxillae are strong, straight, and have the exterior angle, at 
the extremity, curvilinear. These organs have a deeper tinge of brown than the cephalo- 
thorax. The lip is semicircular and prominent at the apex ; and the sternum is heart-shaped. 
The colour of these parts is brown, the lip and margins of the sternum being the darkest. 
The legs are long, slender, provided with hairs and a few fine spines, and are of a pale, 
brownish-yellow hue, the femora being much the palest; the first pair is the longest, then 
the second, and the third pair is the shortest; each tarsus is terminated by three claws ; the 
two superior ones are curved and minutely pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected near 
its base. The palpi resemble the legs in colour. The abdomen is slender, oviform, thinly 
