The cephalo-thorax is oval, hairy, depressed in the posterior region, and pointed before;
its colour is pale, yellowish-brown, with a broad, dark-brown band extending along each side,
and two fine lines of the same hue on the lateral margins; a few white hairs, directed
forwards, occupy the space between the two intermediate pairs of eyes, and immediately
below the anterior row of eyes there is a small, transverse, dark, red-brown line. The intermediate
eyes of the anterior row are larger than the lateral ones. The falces are small,
conical, armed with a few minute teeth on the inner surface, and are of a pale, yellowish-
brown colour, with a dark-brown, elongated spot in front, which is palest in the medial line.
The maxillae have a pale, yellowish-brown hue, that of the lip being dark-brown bordered
with pale-brown. The sternum is heart-shaped, and of a pale-yellow colour faintly tinged
with green; eight dark-brown spots occur on its margins; one, which is very minute, and is
sometimes wanting altogether, is situated opposite to the lip ; three are disposed on each sid e;
and one is seated on its posterior extremity. The legs are hairy, and are furnished with
strong spines; the thighs and tarsi are of a pale, yellowish-brown colour, the former having
several longitudinal, dark-brown lines on the upper and outer sides, which are most conspicuous
on the first and second pairs, and some minute spots of the same hue underneath;
the tibiae and metatarsi are of a dark-brown colour, those of the first and second pairs of legs
being provided with a series of long, moveable, sessile spines on each side of the inferior
surface; the tarsi have two long, curved claws at their extremity, each of which has three
minute teeth, the terminal one being the longest, and below them there is a small scopula.
The palpi, which are of a pale, yellowish-brown colour, are supplied with a few spines, and
are terminated by a long, curved claw having three very small teeth underneath. The
abdomen is oviform, hairy, broader at the posterior than at the anterior extremity, convex
above, projecting over the base of the cephalo-thorax; the upper part is of a pale, yellowish-
brown colour, mingled with white, and has three small tufts of white hairs in front; two.
obscure, brownish-black streaks, one on each side of the medial line, extend from the anterior
part almost a third of its length, and are succeeded by a series of brownish-black spots
occupying the remainder of the medial line, on each side of which there is a longitudinal row
of very small spots of the same h u e ; these streaks and spots are included between two
irregular, brownish-black bands, composed principally of spots, confluent or nearly so,
diminishing in size as they approach the spinners; the sides and under part of the abdomen
have a pale, yellowish-brown hue, spotted with black, the spots on the latter being minute;
and the branchial opercula are of a vellowish-brown colour, with pale inner margins.
The male is smaller and darker coloured than the female. The cubital and radial joints
of the palpi are short, a small, pointed apophysis projecting from the extremity of the latter,
on the outer sid e; the digital joint is oval, convex, and hairy externally, concave within,
comprising the palpal organs, which are highly developed, with a curved, spine-like process
extending to the termination of the joint, and are of a red-brown colour.
The young of both sexes resemble the mother; but their colours are darker, and the
brown bands and lines on the cephalo-thorax are broader.
Hecaerge spinimana occurs in woods in various parts of Great Britain ; it is active in its
movements, and being provided with scopulae, can run with facility on dry objects having
polished perpendicular surfaces. In June the female constructs a lenticular cocoon of white
silk of a slight texture, measuring about three tenths of an inch in diameter, which she usually
attaches to the under side of a stone, depositing in it between twenty and thirty spherical eggs
of a yellowish-white colour, not agglutinated together.
Scotch specimens of this spider have been received from Mr. J. Hardy.
In its general organization this species approximates most nearly to the spiders belonging
to the genus Dolomedes, among which it is still retained by M. Walckenaer; the propriety of
constituting a new genus for its reception is rendered sufficiently manifest, however, by
differences in the disposition of its eyes, in the structure of its mouth and legs, and also in its
habits and economy. These differences present distinct characters, admitted to be generic by
Professor Sundevall and M. Koch; indeed the generic name Lyccena, proposed by the former
eminent arachnologist, would have taken precedence of all others had it not been previously
employed by Fabricius.
Genus SPHASUS (Walckenaer).
Eyes unequal in size, disposed on the anterior part of the cephalo-thorax; the four
posterior ones form a transverse row, which is greatly curved, having its convexity directed
backwards ; and the other four describe a trapezoid whose shortest side is before ; the posterior
eyes of the trapezoid are the largest, and the anterior ones much the smallest of the
eight.,
Maæillæ long, straight, and somewhat enlarged and rounded at the extremity.
Lip moderately long and dilated towards its apex.
Legs long and slender, varying in' their relative length in different species.
Sphasus lineatus. PI. I ll, fig. 22.
Sphasus lineatus, Walck., Hist. Nat. des. Insect. Apt., tom. i, p. 375.
. Walck., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt., tom. ii, p. 460.
— ■i— Koch, Die Arachn., Band iii, p. 12, tab. 77, figs. 171, 172,
Oxyopes — Latr., Gen. Crust, et Insect., tom. i, p. 117, tab. 5, fig. 5.