THERIDION TINCTUM. PI. XIV, fig. 121.
Theridion tinctum, Walck., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt., tom. ii, p. 308.
Theridium irroratum, Koch, Die Arachn., Band iv, p. 120, tab. 141, fig. 327.
Length of the female, ^th 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, ^ths.
The legs are long, slender, provided with hairs, and fine, erect spines, and are of a
yellowish-white colour, with black spots and annuli; 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 at its base. The palpi,
which are short, resemble the legs in colour, and have a small, curved, pectinated claw at their
extremity. The cephalo-thorax is slightly compressed before, rounded on the sides, convex,
glossy, and has an indentation in the medial fine; it is of a yellowish-white hue, with several
black spots on the lateral margins, a transverse line of the same hue on the frontal margin,
which is broadest in the middle, and a triangular, soot-coloured mark, with pale, brownish-
yellow intermixed, whose base comprises the posterior row of eyes, and whose vertex terminates
at the medial indentation. The eyes, which are seated on black spots, are disposed
in two transverse rows on the anterior part of the cephalo-thorax; the four intermediate ones
form a square, the two anterior ones, which are placed on a protuberance, being the largest
and darkest of the eight; the eyes of each lateral pair are seated obliquely on a tubercle,
and are near to each other, but not in contact. The falces are conical, vertical, and armed
with a few minute teeth on the inner surface; they are of a pale, brownish-yellow hue,
tinged with red at the extremity, and have a short, black, longitudinal streak at their base,
on the inner side. The maxillae are obliquely truncated at the extremity, on the outer side,
and are inclined towards the lip, which is triangular, but rounded at the apex. The former
of these organs have a brownish-yellow hue, and that of the latter is dark-brown, being palest
at the apex. The sternum is heart-shaped, and of a yellowish-white colour, with black spots
on the sides, and a streak of the same hue extending from the posterior extremity, along the
middle, nearly its entire length. The abdomen is subglobose, thinly clothed with hairs,
. projects over the base of the cephalo-thorax, and is of a pale-yellow colour; a black band,
curved round its anterior extremity, extends to the sides, and projects from its* middle an
angular point, directed upwards; on each side of the medial line of the upper part there is a
row of black spots, confluent or nearly so, which extends to the spinners; the two anterior
spots are much the largest, and when united at their base, which is usually the case, describe
two contiguous triangles, whose vertices are directed forwards; in the dentated, pale-yellowish
space comprised between the two rows of black spots there are several angular, soot-coloured
lines, whose vertices are directed forwards; and a few oblique streaks of the same hue pass
from the spots to the sides; a spot situated before the sexual organs, a triangular one behind
them, on each side of which there is a short, oblique streak, and two minute ones near the
base of the inferior spinners have a black hue; the sexual organs, which are moderately
developed, are of a red-brown colour, and that of the branchial opercula is pale, brownish-
yellow.
The male is slenderer, darker coloured, and has much longer legs than the female. The
cubital and radial joints of its palpi are short, and the latter is produced at its extremity, on
the outer side, where there are a few long hairs; the digital joint is oval, and is tinged with
brown; it is convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs, which
are neither highly developed nor very complex in structure; they have a short, dark-brown
process at their extremity, which is in contact with some prominent, semi-transparent membrane
on the outer side, and their colour is red-brown.
Numerous specimens of Theridion tinctum were taken by the Rev. O. P. Cambridge, in
the summer of 1860, in uninhabited rooms in Dorsetshire. This species, though very closely
connected with Theridion varians, Theridion denticulatum, and Theridion simile, by relations of
affinity, yet may be distinguished from them by the greater length of its legs, and particularly
by those of the second pair surpassing those of the posterior pair, a character which approximates
it to the spiders of the genus Linyphia.
Theridion pulchellum. PI. XIV, fig. 122.
Theridion pulchellum, Walck., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt., tom. ii, p. 311.
__ __ Blackw., Annals and Mag. of N at. Hist., second series, vol. viii,
p. 444.
— farmamm, Blackw., Lond. and Edinb. Phil. Mag., third series, vol. x,
p. 101.
Theridium vittatum, Koch, Die Arachn., Band iii, p. 65, tab. 94, fig. 217.
__ __ Koch, Die Arachn., Band iv, p. 118, tab. 141, fig. 826.
Length of the female, Jth of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, Ath. breadth, i t h ;
breadth of the abdomen, ^ th; length of an anterior leg, £ fh s; length of a leg of the third
pair, jth.
The cephalo-thorax is oval, convex, glossy, and has a large indentation in the medial
lin e ; it is of a yellowish-brown colour, tinged with green; a broad, black band extends along
the middle, and a fine line of the same hue occurs on the margins. The falces are conical,
vertical, and armed with a few teeth on the inner surface, near their extremity; the maxillae
are inclined towards the lip, which is nearly semicircular. These parts are of a reddish-
brown hue, the lip being black at the base. The sternum is heart-shaped, with small
prominences on the sides, opposite to the legs; it has a yellowish-brown tint in the middle,
and broad, black, lateral margins, which meet at its posterior extremity. The legs are long,
provided with hairs, and of a yellowish-brown colour, with reddish-brown annuli; the first
pair is the longest, the fourth pair rather surpasses 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 palpi resemble the legs in
colour, and have a curved, pectinated claw at their extremity. The eyes are nearly equal in
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