332 
EPBIRIDiE. 
structure, below which there are several smaller ones. The palpi resemble the legs in 
colour, and have a curved, pectinated claw at their extremity. 
The sexes, though similar in colour, present marked differences in structure. The male, 
besides being smaller than the female, has the anterior extremity of its cephalo-fhorax more 
pointed, and the tibiae of its second pair of legs stronger and more amply provided with 
spines than she has. The coxae of its anterior pair of legs have a curved process at their 
extremity, on the under side, and those of the second pair have a conical, pointed, process 
at their base. Its palpi are short; two long bristles project from the extremity of the cubital 
joint, in front, and the radial joint has an obtuse, light-coloured apophysis on its outer side, 
which has a small protuberance at its base, and a dark-coloured one on its inner side ; the 
digital joint is of a slender, elongated, oval form, with a black process at its base, which is 
curved outwards, and enlarged at its extremity; it is convex and hairy externally, slightly 
concave within, and the palpal organs, which are connected with this concavity, are very 
highly developed, remarkably prominent, and complicated in structure; they have a strong, 
curved, pointed process at their extremity, and their colour is a mixture of black, yellowish- 
brown, and reddish-brown. The convex sides of the digital joints are directed towards 
each other. 
Specimens of this showy species have been received from Staffordshire, Shropshire, 
Northamptonshire, Middlesex, and Devonshire, but it does not appear to have been observed 
in the north of England or Wales. 
Epeika signata. 
Epeira signata, Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. vi, 
p. 341. 
— — Blackw., Ibid., vol. x, p. 182. 
Length of an immature male, Tg ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, ^th, 
breadth, Ath; breadth of the abdomen, Afh; length of an anterior leg, ^ths; length of a leg 
of the third pair, Aths. 
The four intermediate eyes form a square, and each lateral pair is seated obliquely on a 
small tubercle. The cephalo-thorax is convex, compressed before, rounded on the sides, 
abundantly supplied with white hairs, particularly on the anterior part, and has an indentation 
in the medial line; it is of a dark, red-brown colour, which is most intense on the sides, and a 
conspicuous, yellowish-white spot occurs in the angle formed by the furrows which serve to 
distinguish the head from the thorax. The falces are conical, vertical, armed with teeth on 
the inner surface, and of a red-brown colour, which is darkest at the base, in front. The 
maxillae are short, straight, and rounded at the extremity. The lip is nearly semicircular, but 
somewhat pointed; and the sternum is heart-shaped. These parts are of a dark, red-brown 
colour, with the exception of the extremities of the maxillae and lip, which are much paler. 
The legs are robust, provided with hairs and spines, and are of a pale, reddish-brown hue, 
