fourth pairs, and are nearly equal in length, the second pair being slightly the longer
and the fourth pair a little surpasses the third in longitudinal extent; they are provided
with hairs and strong spines, and are of a pale, red-brown colour, the femora and tibiee of the
first and second pairs being marked on the upper part with two obscure, longitudinal, parallel
lines, one of which has a blackish and the other a yellowish-white tin t; each tarsus has two
curved, deeply pectinated claws at its extremity. The palpi are of a pale, red-brown hue,
and are provided with hairs and strong spines. The eyes are disposed on the anterior part
of the cephalo-thorax in the form of a crescent; the lateral eyes of both rows, which are
seated on tubercules, are larger than the rest, those of the anterior row being the largest of
the eight. The abdomen is depressed, sparingly supplied with hairs, broader at the posterior
than at the anterior extremity, and projects over the base of the cephalo-thorax ; it is of a
red-brown colour above, being palest in the middle of the anterior region, and is encircled by
a band of dull, reddish-white, which subtends several streaks of the same hue from each
side towards the middle; there are on the upper part five conspicuous, circular depressions;
the three anterior ones form a triangle whose vertex is directed forwards, and the other two
are situated parallel to its base; the sides and under part are corrugated, and of a reddish-
brown colour, that of the spinners being brownish; the branchial opercula have a pale, dulli-j
yellow tin t; and the sexual organs, which are prominent and have an orifice nearly circular,
are of a red-brown hue.
The male, which is smaller and much darker coloured than the female, bears a strong
resemblance to the male of Thomisus luctuosus. The femora and genua of its first and second
pairs of legs are of a very dark-brown colour, the remaining parts of these limbs, and the
whole of the third and fourth pairs, having a reddish-brown hue. The colour of the palpi is
red-brown ; the cubital and radial joints are short, and the latter projects from its extremity
a large, pointed apophysis, on the outer side, and a strong obtuse one underneath; the digital
joint is oval, with a bold projection near the upper part, on the outer sid e; it is convex and
hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs, which are highly developed,
and have two curved, pointed, prominent, contiguous processes near their middle, one of
which has a conical protuberance at its base, on the outer side; a large spine, whose point
terminates in the bold projection on the outer side of the digital joint, curves round their
extremity, and their colour is black, tinged with red.
In spring this species may be observed running on the ground, in pastures near Llanrwst.
The female constructs a lenticular cocoon of white silk, of a compact texture, measuring two
fifths of an inch in diameter, on the inferior surface of the leaves of plants, the edges of which
are folded upon it, and retained in that position by silken lines; it comprises about 185
spherical eggs of a vellowish-white colour, not agglutinated together, which are hatched in
July.
An adult female, taken in May 1846, had the right eye of the posterior row very much
smaller than the left eye of the same row.
T h o m is u s C a m b r i d g i i . PI. IV, fig. 47.
Thomisus Cambridgii, Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., third series, vol. 1,
p. 426.
Length of the female, raths of an inch ; length of the cephalo-thorax, 5th, breadth, rath ;
breadth of the abdomen, &ths; length of an anterior leg, ^ths; length of a leg of the third
pair, ,th.
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 large, convex, compressed
before, rounded on the sides, broadly truncated in front, depressed anteriorly, still more
abruptly so towards the base, and has a small indentation in the medial lin e ; the sides are of
a brown colour, marbled with yellowish-white, and on the posterior part of each there is an
oval black patch, with its smaller extremity directed forwards, whose outer margin is broken
by a yellowish-white spot; the lateral margins and a large band extending along the middle
are of a yellowish-white colour, the latter, immediately behind the eyes, being tinged with
brown and marked with spots and two short, parallel streaks of a deeper shade; a short,
curved, black line occurs near each side, below the lateral eyes, and the frontal margin is
fringed with a row of strong, black hairs directed forwards. The falces are short, powerful,
subconical, vertical, and of a yellowish-white colour in front; the base, outer side, and
extremity having a brownish-black hue. The maxillae are somewhat pointed at the extremity,
and inclined towards the lip, which is triangular, but rounded at the ap ex ; and the sternum
is heart-shaped. These parts are of a pale, brownish-yellow colour, the base of the lip, that
of the maxillae on the inner side, and minute spots on the sternum, having a dark-brown hue.
The legs are provided with hairs and spines, two longitudinal rows of the latter occurring on
the inferior surface of the tibiae and metatarsi of the first and second pairs; they are of a
brownish-yellowish colour, the tarsi having a tinge of red, and are marked with streaks, spots,
and annuli, of a brownish-black hue ; the first and second pairs, which are longer and more
robust than the third and fourth pairs, are equal in length, and the third pair is the shortest;
each tarsus is terminated by two curved, pectinated claws; and the short palpi, which
resemble the legs in colour, but are very slightly marked with brownish-black, have a curved,
pectinated claw at their extremity. The abdomen is broader at the posterior than at the
anterior extremity, sparingly clothed with hairs, convex above, and projects over the base of
the cephalo-thorax; the upper part is of a dull, reddish-brown colour, with obscure, slightly
oblique lines of a paler hue, and is marked with seven minute, indented, yellowish-white spots,
describing an elongated angle whose vertex is directed forwards; a short, fusiform line, of the
same hue, extends along the middle from the spot forming the vertex of the angle, a little beyond
the two spots constituting the second pair; the anterior extremity, sides, a space above the
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