' Lycosa lynx, Hahn, Die Arachn., Band ii, p. 18, tab. 42, fig. 104.
— leucophaa, Blackw., Lond. and Edinb. Phil. Mag., third series, vol. x, p. 104,
Arctosa cinerea, Koch, Die Arachn., Band xiv, p. 123, tab. 488, fig. 1358.
Length of the female, |ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, ^ths,breadth, ?gths;
breadth of the abdomen, ^ths; length of a posterior leg, 1 inch; length of a leg of the third
pair, Jths.
This fine species has the lateral eyes of the four constituting the anterior row smaller
than the intermediate ones. Its cephalo-thorax is large, thickly covered with hairs, and of a
greenish-brown colour; the carina or most elevated part in the medial line is the darkest,
and on each side of the eyes describing the quadrilateral figure there are two imperfectly
defined, yellowish-white spots. The falces are powerful, conical, armed with teeth on the
inner surface, supplied with grayish hairs in front, and densely fringed with pale-red ones
near the extremity, on the inner side; these organs, with the maxillae and lip, are of a very
dark-brown colour, the maxillae being paler at the extremity, which is fringed with light-red
hairs on the inner side. The sternum is heart-shaped, of a dark-brown hue, and covered with
hoary hairs. The legs are robust, abundantly provided with hairs and spines, and are of a
yellowish-brown colour, with spots and annuli of a dark-brown hue. The palpi resemble the
leas in colour. The abdomen is oviform, hairy, rather broader at the posterior than at the
anterior extremity, convex above, projecting over the base of the cephalo-thorax; its colour is
grayish-brown, faintly tinged with olive; a broad, obscure, dentated band, of a lighter hue,
which terminates in three points, extends from the anterior part along the middle, nearly half
of its length, and a series of pale, transverse, curved lines, somewhat enlarged at their
extremities, and diminishing in length as they approach the spinners, occupies the space
between the termination of the band and the extremity of the abdomen; the under part is of
a yellow-brown colour.
The male is smaller, lighter coloured, and more distinctly marked than the female. The
radial joint of the palpi is rather longer than the cubital, and the digital joint is of an oblong
oval form, convex above, hairy, and of a dull-brown h u e ; underneath, near its base, there is
a small concavity comprising the palpal organs, which are neither highly developed nor complicated
in structure, and are of a dark, red-brown colour.
In the spring of 1836 this light-coloured variety of Lycosa allod/roma was discovered
among water-worn stones and fragments of rock on the banks of the river Llugwy, near
Capel Curig, Caernarvonshire, and was described in the ‘ London and Edinburgh Philosophical
Magazine/ under the appellation of Lycosa leucophaa.
The genus Arctosa,, proposed by M. Koch' for the reception of this and several other
species of Lycosa, like his genus Trochosa, is founded solely on specific characters.
Lycosa picta. PI. I, fig. 8.
Lycosa picta, Hahn, Die Arachn., Band i, p. 106, tab. 27, fig. 79.
— — Blackw., Linn. Trans., vol. xix, p. 119.
— — Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. vii, p. 259.
Arctosa — Koch, Die Arachn., Band xiv, p. 130, tab. 489, figs. T362, 1363.
Length of the female, fths of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, gth; breadth, gth ;
breadth of the abdomen, |5th s ; length of a posterior leg, 3; length of a leg of the third
pair, ajths.
The intermediate eyes of the anterior row are rather larger than the lateral ones. The
cephalo-thorax is of a red-brown colour, with a broad, irregular, brownish-black band on each
side, narrow lateral margins of the same hue, and is clothed with yellowish-white hairs. The
falces are powerful, conical, armed with teeth on the inner surface, and of a dark, reddish-
brown colour, being palest in front. The maxillse are slightly curved towards the lip, and,
with the latter, ape of a dark-brown colour, tinged with red at the extremity. The sternum is
heart-shaped, and has a brownish-black hue. The legs and palpi are robust, provided with
hairs and spines, and are of a pale, reddish-brown colour with brownish-black annuli. The
abdomen is oviform, hairy, rather broader at the posterior than at the anterior extremity,
convex above, projecting.over the base of the cephalo-thorax; its prevailing colour is dull or
brownish-yellow, the under part being yellowish-white; in front of the upper part, contiguous
to the cephalo-thorax, th,eré is a large, tripartite, brownish-black mark, the intermediate
division, which is the smallest, being bifid; to this succeeds a yellowish-white mark of a
similar form, except that the intermediate division is the longest, and terminates in a point;
on each side of this point two parallel, yellowish-white spots occur, the four forming a
transverse row; a series of black and yellowish-white spots, disposed alternately, extends on
each side of the medial line of the posterior half of the abdomen ; the first black spot of each
series and the first yellowish-white one, which is much the longest, are the most conspicuous;
sometimes the space between these series is obscurély marked with black and yellowish-white,
curved, transverse lines; the sexual organs are of a reddish-brown colour, and have a longitudinal
septum in the middle.
The male is smaller and darker coloured than the female. The cubital and radial joints
of its palpi are short; the digital joint, which has a tinge of brown, is of an oblong-oval
form; it is convex and hairy externally, and concave within, at the base; this concavity comprises
the palpal organs, which are neither highly developed nor very complicated in structure,
and are of a dark, reddish-brown colour.
M'. Walckenaer, regarding this handsome spider as identical with Lycosa allodroma,, has
placed the name given to it by M. Hahn among the synonyma of that species (‘ Hist. Nat.
des Insect. Apt./ tom. i, p. 330). Of the specific distinctness of Lycosa picta, howevèr, no
doubt can be entertained by those observers who have had an opportunity of inspecting adult
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