brown, the femora and the. base of the tibiae being the darkest; each tarsus is terminated by
two curved, pectinated claws. The palpi are short, and resemble the legs in colour, but are
somewhat paler. The abdomen is broadest in the middle, corrugated on the sides and at the
posterior extremity, which is rounded, moderately convex above, and projects a little over the
base of the cephalo-thorax; short, strong hairs, enlarged at their extremity, are dispersed
over its superior surface, but are most abundant on the sides; its colour is yellow-brown, the
sides and under part being much the palest; on the posterior half of the upper part there are
dark-brown, slightly curved, transverse bars, which diminish in length as they approach the
spinners, and in the medial line of the anterior part two rows of confluent, dark-brown spots
form a very acute angle, whose vertex is directed backwards; the sides are marked with dark-
brown streaks and spots, and from each pale-yellow branchial operculum a row of confluent,
dark-brown spots passes obliquely to the spinners; the sexual organs have a broad, prominent
piece, slightly notched at its extremity, connected with their anterior margin, and their
colour is red-brown.
The male bears a close resemblance to the female, but it is smaller, darker coloured, and
its legs are slenderer. Its palpi are short, and the colour of the humeral, radial, and digital
joints is brown, the humeral joint being the palest, and the cubital joint has a yellowish-brown
h u e ; the radial joint projects a long, curved, pointed, prominent apophysis from its extremity,
on the outer side, and a strong, obtuse one, notched at its extremity, on the under sid e ; 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 o f a dark-brown colour, tinged
with red. '
Specimens of this remarkable Thomisus have been taken in Portland on several occasions,
by the Rev. 0 . P. Cambridge.
T h o m i s u s c i t r e u s . PI. IV, fig. 53.
Thomisus cistreus, "Walck., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt., tom. i, p. 526.
— — Latr., Gen. Crust, et Insect., tom. i, p. 111.
— Hahn, Die Arachn., Band i, p. 42, tab. 11, fig. 32.
— . — Sund., Yet. Acad. Handl., 1832, p. 219.
-— Blackw., Linn. Trans., vol. xix, p. 122.
— Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. vii,
p. 451.
dauci, Hahn, Die Arachn., Band i, p. 33, tab. 9, fig. 27.
~— calycinus, Koch, Die Arachn., Band iv, p. 53, tab. 124, figs. 283, 284.
. — — Koch, Uebers. des Arachn. Syst., erstes Heft, p. 24.
Length of the female, gsths of an in ch ; length of the cephalo-thorax, jth, breadth, jth;
breadth of the abdomen, ,th; length of an anterior leg, 1 ; length of a leg of the third
pair, ith.
The eyes are disposed on the anterior part of the cephalo-thorax, in two transverse rows,
forming a crescent; those of the anterior row are slightly larger than those of the posterior
row, and the lateral pairs are seated on tubercles. The cephalo-thorax is compressed before,
rounded on the sides, broadly truncated in front, and depressed in the posterior part; its
colour is dull-yellow, a broad, longitudinal band in the medial line, the lateral margins, and
the-region of the eyes, being of a paler hue, and a band of a dull-green colour extends along
each side. The falees are short, strong, and vertical; the maxillae are enlarged where the
palpi are inserted, and convex at the base; the lip, which is somewhat oval, is pointed at the
apex; and the sternum is heart-shaped. The first and second pairs of legs are much longer
and more powerful than the third and fourth pairs, and their metatarsi are provided with two
longitudinal rows of strong spines on the under side; the first pair of legs is rather longer
than the second pair, and the third pair is the shortest; each tarsus is terminated by two
curved, deeply pectinated, black claws; the palpi are short, and have a curved, pectinated
claw at their extremity; the abdomen is depressed, much broader at the posterior than at
the anterior extremity, and projects over the base of the cephalo-thorax. These parts are of
a yellow colour, differing in -intensity, and the maxillae have a tinge of brown. On the upper
part of the abdomen there are two longitudinal series of minute depressions, which converge
to a point near its anterior extremity; and in the medial line of the under part two parallel
series of similar depressions occur. Much diversity of colour may be observed even among
adult females of this species, the prevailing tint in some individuals being yellow, and in
others pale-green, greenish-yellow, or white; and in many instances the sides of the anterior
part of the abdomen are marked with an irregular, longitudinal red band.
The male is only half the length of the female, and differs from her remarkably in colour.
The sides of its cephalo-thorax have a brownish-black hue, a broad band of yellowish-green
extends along the middle, and the region of the anterior intermediate pair of eyes and the
frontal margin are of a dulbred colour. The falees, maxillee, lip, and sternum are of a dark,
reddish-brown hue, the extremities of the first three having a greenish-yellow tint. The first
and second pairs of legs are of a dark, reddish-brown colour, with broad annuli of yellowish-
brown on the tibiae, metatarsi, and tarsi; the third and fourth pairs have a dull, greenish-
yellow hue, with the exception of the coxae, which are of a dark, reddish-brown colour. The
colour of the axillary, humeral; arid digital joints of the palpi is dark, reddish-brown, the last
having a yellowish-brown tinge at the extremity; the cubital and radial joints are short,
and of a greenish-yellow h u e ; the former is the larger, and the latter projects a large
apophysis from its extremity,on the outer side, which)terminates in an acute, curved point; at
the base of the apophysis, underneath, there are two obtuse prominences, and intermediate
between them and its curved point another is situated; the digital joint is of a broad, oval
form, convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs; these
organs, though highly developed, are not very complicated in structure; they have a small,
curved spine at their extremity, on the outer side, and are of a dark, reddish-brown colour.
The abdomen is oviform, somewhat depressed, of a pale, greenish-yellow colour above,
with an irregular, brownish-black band extending from the spinners, on each side of the
medial line, about two thirds of its length; on the sides there is an irregular band of the same
hue, which unites with the other bands at the spinners; and the under part has a broad,
longitudinal, dark, reddish-brown band in the middle, bordered laterally with red-brown.