sparingly clothed with white hairs. These parts are black. The maxillae and lip have a
dark-brown hue, the former, which are the lighter coloured, being palest at the extremity, on
the inner side. The abdomen is oviform, hairy, slightly depressed, projecting over the base
of the cephalo-thorax; the upper part is of a brown colour, with some reddish-brown and
white hairs interspersed; three oblique, white bands occur on each side, a white spot is
situated immediately above the spinners, and a curved, white band at the anterior extremity
passes obliquely to the under side, which has a grayish-white h u e : the colour of the branchial
opercula is brown; and that of the spinners and sexual organs dark-brown.
The male is smaller and darker coloured than the female, and the relative length of its
legs is different; the first and fourth pairs are the longest and equal in length, and the second
pair is the shortest; their colour is dark-brown, the thighs being almost black. The falces,
which have a dark-brown hue, are remarkably long, subcylindrical, very prominent, widely
divergent at the extremity, and are armed with a long, slightly curved fang, a large pointed
process near the extremity, on the outer side, and two minute teeth on the inner side, the
smaller of which is nearer the base than the extremity. The palpi have a dark-brown h u e ;
the humeral joint is curved downwards, and the radial joint, which is shorter than the cubital,
projects a large apophysis from its extremity, on the outer side; the digital joint is oval,
convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs, which are
moderately developed, prominent at the upper part, not complex in structure, and of a dark-
brown colour.
When searching on walls or the trunks of trees for those insects which constitute its food,
this common spider employs much art, moving with great circumspection, and occasionally
elevating the cephalo-thorax, by straightening the anterior legs, for the purpose of extending
its sphere of vision. It runs without difficulty on the perpendicular surfaces of dry, polished
bodies, having, like the other species of the genus, scopulae situated below the tarsal claws,
which, by the emission of an adhesive secretion, give it a secure hold upon objects. It takes
its victims by surprise, leaping suddenly upon them, and by that act draws from the spinners
a line attached by its extremity to the station whence it took its spring,—a necessary precaution
to prevent the possibility of falling, whether successful in seizing its prey or not.
In June the female constructs one or two cocoons of white silk, of a slight texture and
lenticular form; the larger ones measure about one fifth of an inch in diameter, and usually
contain fifteen or sixteen spherical eggs of a pale-yellow colour, which, in common with those
of the Saltici generally, are not agglutinated together. These cocoons are comprised in a cell
of compact, white silk, fabricated in crevices of rocks, walls, and the bark of old trees, in which
the female also frequently occupies a place.
By subdividing the extensive genus Salticus, M. Koch has obtained several minor groups
which he has dignified with generic appellations; but as even the species regarded as types of
his new genera are, for the most part, connected by close ties of affinity, it is not probable
that his views will be adopted by arachnologists generally. The genera Calliethera, Helio-
phanus, JEuophrys, and Marpissa, including species indigenous to Great Britain, present
differences in structure of importance as affording specific characters, but much too slight and
circumscribed to be rendered available in promoting the systematic changes proposed to be
made by M. Koch.
Inhabits Scotland and Ireland.
Salticus sparsus. PI. Ill, fig. 25.
Salticus sparsus, Blackw., Research, in Zool., p. 417.
— • , •— Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. vii,
p. 401.
Titulus 32, Lister, Hist. Animal. Angl., De Aran., p. 89, tab. 1, fig. 32.
Length of the female;ith of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, ^th, breadth, ^th ;
breadth of the abdomen, „th ; length of a posterior leg, £th ; length of a leg of the second
pair, yth.
The legs are robust, hairy, and black, with reddish-brown annuli, on which white hairs
occur ; the fourth pair is much the longest, and the first, second, and third pairs are nearly
of equal length, the second pair being rather the shortest ; each tarsus has two long, curved,
pectinated claws at its extremity. The palpi are short ; they resemble the legs in colour, and
the radial and digital joints are abundantly provided with long, white hairs. The cephalo-
thorax is nearly quadrilateral ;. it slopes abruptly in the posterior region, and the anterior part
is prominent, projecting beyond the falces ; above it is clothed with black hairs interspersed
with yellowish-white ones, which, in some individuals, form an obscure spot between thé
posterior pair of eyes. The falces are small, vertical, armed with a few minute teeth on the
inner surface, and are of a dark, reddish-brown colour. The maxillae and lip have a dark-
brown hue, their extremities being the palest. The sternum is oval, with a small prominence
on each side of its anterior part ; it is sparingly supplied with white hairs, and is of a dark-
brown hue. The abdomen is ovate, hairy, somewhat depressed, pointed behind, and projects
over the base of the cephalo-thorax ; above it is of a brownish-black colour, blended with white,
and on each side of the medial line, rather nearer to the posterior than the anterior extremity,
there is a conspicuous, irregular, white spot, between which and the spinners there
is a series of obscure, whitish lines, of an angular form, whose vertices are directed
forwards, and a white spot is situated immediately above the spinners ; a tuft of white hairs
occurs at its anterior extremity, and the sides have a grayish tint, with a few white spots in
the posterior region ; the hue of the under part is gray, and that of the branchial opercula
brown.
The male does not differ from the female in the relative length of its legs, and it resembles
her in colour ; but its abdomen is smaller in proportion to the size of the cephalo-thorax. The
cubital and radial joints of the palpi are short ; the latter projects two obtuse apophyses from
its extremity, one situated in front, and the other, which is much the larger, on the outer
side ; the digital joint is oval, convex, and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the
palpal organs, which are highly developed, not very complex in structure, and of a dark, red-
brown colour.
Specimens of this spider were captured on the outer walls of Crumpsall Hall, near
Manchester, in the summer of 1828. It pairs in the month of May.