frequently attached to the inferior surface of a stone or fragment of rock ; it contains between
eighty and ninety spherical eggs, of a pale, yellowish-white colour, not agglutinated together.
This spider is found in Scotland and Ireland.
A young female of this species, captured in July, 1835, had the two lateral pairs of eyes
only ; the four small intermediate eyes were altogether wanting, not the slightest rudiment of
them being perceptible even with the aid of a powerful magnifier.
T homisus audax. PI. IV, fig. 39.
Thomisus audax, Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. xiv,
p. 29.
Xysticus — Koch, Uebers. des Arachn. Syst., erstes Heft, p. 25.
— Koch, Die Arachn., Band xii, p. 74, tab. 413, figs. 1005— 1008.
Length..of the female, ith of au inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, ^th, breadth, ^ th ;
breadth of the abdomen, ^ths; length of an anterior leg, ^ th s; length of a leg of the third
pair, T|ths.
The eyes are disposed on the anterior part of the cephalo-thorax, in two transverse, curved
rows, forming a crescent whose convexity is directed forwards; the eyes of each lateral pair,
which are seated on a tubercle, are larger than the intermediate ones, those of the anterior
row being the largest of the eight. The cephalo-thorax is convex, compressed before,
rounded on the sides, truncated in front, and depressed behind ; the colour of the sides is
brownish-black, marbled with yellowish-white, a conspicuous spot of the latter hue occurring
near the posterior extremity of each; the narrow, lateral margins, and a broad band extending
along the middle, have a yellowish-white tint, the latter being contracted near its base. The
falces are short, strong, subconical, and vertical; the maxillse are powerful, convex near the
base, and inclined towards the lip, which is somewhat oval; and the sternum is heart-shaped.
These parts are of a pale, yellowish-brown colour, spotted with darker brown, and the base of
the falces and lip has a brown hue, that of the latter being the darker. The legs are provided
with hairs and some strong spines, two parallel rows of the latter occurring on the inferior
surface of the tibiae and metatarsi of the first and second pairs, which are much longer and
more robust than the third and fourth pairs; the first pair is rather longer than the second,
and the third pair is rather shorter than the fourth ; each tarsus is terminated by two curved,
pectinated claws, and the palpi, which are short, have a small, curved, pectinated claw at
their extremity. These limbs are of a yellowish-brown colour, spotted with dark-brown, the
extremity of the femora, genua, tibiae, and metatarsi, and the base of the tibiae of the third
and fourth pairs of legs, having a brownish-black tint on the upper surface. The abdomen is
thinly clothed with hairs, moderately convex above, broader at the posterior than at the
anterior extremity, which appears as if cut in a straight line across, and projects over the base
of the cephalo-thorax; it is of a pale, yellowish-brown colour, tinged with olive and spotted
with black, the spots on the sides forming oblique rows, and those on the under part being
fewer and more minute; the anterior part of the sides has a reddish tint, and a broad,
dentated, pale, yellowish-brown band, tinged with olive and bordered with black, extends along
the middle of the upper part; the spinners have a brown hue, and that of the sexual organs,
which have a strong, longitudinal septum in the middle, is red-brown. This spider varies
greatly in colour, some individuals being much darker and more distinctly marked than
others.M
. Koch remarks that the male is smaller and darker coloured than the female. The
coxae, femora, genua, and base of the tibiae of the first and second pairs of legs, have a brown-
black hue, that of the other parts of these limbs being yellowish-white. The colour of the
palpi is brown, with the exception of the digital joint, which has a gray-brown tint, and that
of the palpal organs is black.
Specimens of Thomisus audax, supplied by the Rev. Hamlet Clark, were met with near
Northampton and at Holme Fen, Huntingdonshire, in the autumn of 1853. They were all
females.
M. Walckenaer, regarding the Xysticus (Thomisus) audax of M. Koch as a mere variety of
Thomisus cristatus, has included it among the synonyma of that species (‘ Hist. Nat. des
Insect. Ap t./ tom. i, p. 521), from which, however, it is undoubtedly distinct.
Thomisus erraticus. PL IV, fig. 40.
Thomisus erraticus, Blackw., Research, in Zool., p. 408.
— — Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. vii,
p. 449.
Length of the female, ^ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, -^th, breadth, ^th ;
breadth of the abdomen, |t h ; length of a leg of the second pair, ^ths; length of a leg of
the third pair, jth.
The cephalo-thorax is large, glossy, compressed before, rounded on the sides, broadly
truncated in front, and depressed in the anterior region; it is of a pale, reddish-brown colour,
with a black streak extending from each lateral pair of eyes toward the abdomen; between
these streaks there is a yellowish-white band, which is bifid before; a fine line of the same
hue occurs on the lateral margins, and immediately above it, in the posterior region, there is
an obscure, parallel, blackish band; on the frontal margin there are .some strong, black bristles,
directed forwards. The eyes are disposed on the anterior part of the cephalo-thorax in the
form of a crescent; the lateral eyes, which are seated on yellowish-white tubercles, are larger
than the intermediate ones, those of the anterior row being the largest of the eight. The
falces are small, cuneiform, and vertical; the maxillse are enlarged at the base, where the
palpi are inserted ; the figure of the lip is triangular; the sternum is of an elongated heart-
shape; and the legs and palpi are robust, and are furnished with hairs and strong spines.
These parts are of a pale, reddish-brown colour, the lip being the darkest, particularly in the
medial line. The first and second pairs of legs, which are much longer and more powerful