neriEne. 
275 
superior ones are curved and pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected near its base. The 
palpi resemble the legs in colour. The cephalo-thorax is glossy, very prominent and convex 
where the eyes are seated, compressed before, rounded on the sides, and indented in the medial 
line; the falces are powerful, rather convex in front, and have a longitudinal row of small 
spines towards the outer side; they are armed with strong teeth on the inner surface, and are 
slightly inclined towards the sternum, which is heart-shaped ; the maxillee are greatly enlarged 
where the palpi are inserted, and encompass the lip, which is semicircular and prominent at 
the apex; the four intermediate eyes nearly form a square ; the abdomen is oviform, glossy, 
convex above, projecting over the base of the cephalo-thorax, and is sparingly clothed with 
short hairs. These parts have a black hue, with the exception of the branchial opercula, 
which have a yellow tint. 
The male differs from the female in several remarkable particulars : it is smaller; the 
lateral margins of the cephalo-thorax are strongly dentated; and a series of short, sharp 
spines, slightly curved forwards, occupies the medial line of its anterior convexity. The rela¬ 
tive length of its legs also is dissimilar, the anterior being longer than the posterior pair, 
and these organs, with the palpi, are much redder than those of the female. The humeral 
joint of the palpi is greatly elongated, much curved, and armed with strong spines underneath ; 
the cubital and radial joints are dilated at their extremities ; the former has a large, conical 
process on its under side, and the latter is terminated by two apophyses; one, which is short 
and broad, projects in front, and the other, which is more elongated and acute, is situated 
underneath; the digital joint is of an oblong, oval form; it is convex and hairy externally, con¬ 
cave within, comprising the palpal organs, which are highly developed, and of a very dark, 
red-brown colour. 
This species is widely distributed in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, and is 
remarkable for its ascents into the atmosphere, as well as for the extraordinary organization 
of the cephalo-thorax and its appendages in the male. The sexes pair in June, and the female 
deposits six or seven spherical eggs of a pale, yellowish-white colour in a subglobose cocoon of 
white silk of a slight texture, which measures about T ' 5 th of an inch in diameter, and is usually 
attached to the inferior surface of stones. 
It is a fact deserving of notice, that Neriene longipalpis can preserve an active state of 
existence for some days when submerged in water. 
The Theridion dentipalpe of M. Wider (Museum Senckenbergianum, B. 1, p. 248, taf. 17, 
fig. 1 ) is not included among the synonyma of this spider, because it appears to differ from it 
in structure and colour; on the latter particular, however, little stress can be laid, as the 
specimens collected by M. Wider were preserved in spirit of wine. 
Neriene fusca. PL XIX, fig. 189. 
Neriene fusca, Blackw., Research, in Zook, p. 382. 
— — Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. ix, p. 270. 
Length of the female, jth of an inch ; length of the cephalo-thorax, ~th, breadth, ,-,-th ; 
breadth of the abdomen, ~th; length of a posterior leg, 1th; length of a leg of the third 
pair, gth. 
