NERIENE. 
271 
has two apophyses; one, on the inner side, which tapers to its extremity, is curved obliquely 
across the upper part of the digital joint, and has a strong, pointed process near its base; the 
other, situated on the outer side, is much shorter and more obtuse; the digital joint is oval, 
convex, and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs ; these organs have 
several curved, spinelike processes, and are of a red-brown colour. 
The palpi of the male of this species, which is found among heath and grass in Denbigh¬ 
shire, Yorkshire, Berwickshire, and the south of Lancashire, are very peculiar in structure; 
M. Wider has well remarked that “ sie haben viel Aehnlichkeit mit der Scheere der Krebse, 
nur dass ein eigentlicher Daumen fehlt.” (Museum Senckenbergianum, B. 1, p. 238.) 
Neriene nigra. PI. XVIII, fig. 185. 
Neriene nigra, Blackw., Research, in Zook, p. 378. 
— — Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. ix, p. 269. 
Length of the female, ~th of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, ^th, breadth, ^rd; 
breadth of the abdomen, ^th; length of an anterior leg, |th; length of a leg of the third 
pair, ^th. 
The anterior eyes of the four intermediate ones forming the trapezoid are very minute 
and near to each other. The cephalo-thorax is convex, glossy, prominent where the eyes are 
seated, somewhat compressed before, and rounded on the sides, which are marked with slight 
furrows converging towards an indentation in the medial line; the falces are strong, conical, 
armed with teeth on the inner surface, and slightly inclined towards the sternum, which is 
heart-shaped; the maxillae are enlarged at the extremity, and inclined towards the lip, which 
is semicircular and prominent at the apex. These parts are of a brownish-black colour, the 
falces and maxillae having a faint tinge of red. The legs, which are provided with hairs and a 
few fine spines, have a red-brown tint, and the anterior and posterior pairs are equal in length ; 
each tarsus is terminated by three claws; the two superior ones are curved and minutely pec¬ 
tinated, and the inferior one is inflected near its base. The palpi resemble the legs in colour. 
The abdomen is oviform, convex above, projecting over the base of the cephalo-thorax; it is 
thinly clothed with hairs, glossy, and of a brownish-black hue ; that of the branchial opercula 
being brown. 
The legs of the male are redder than those of the female, and the prominence at the 
anterior part of its cephalo-thorax is surmounted by numerous very short hairs. Its palpi are 
long, and the extremities of the humeral joints almost touch when in a state of repose; the 
cubital joint is long and clavate ; the radial joint is strong, and is elongated into a narrow, 
oval process, which extends in front of the digital joint, and is terminated by a corneous point 
curved outwards; the digital joint is oval, convex and hairy externally, concave within, com¬ 
prising the palpal organs, which are highly developed, complex with spinelike processes, one 
on the outer side being curved in a circular form, and are of a dark, red-brown colour. 
Males and females of Neriene nigra were obtained in the autumn of 1833 on posts and 
36 
