soot-coloured lines, and has narrow, black, lateral margins. The falces are powerful, conical,
and rather prominent; the maxillae are convex at the base, obliquely depressed in the middle,
enlarged at the extremity, and curved towards the lip, which is oval; and the sternum'
is broad, glossy, and heart-shaped, with small eminences on the sides, opposite to the legs.
These parts are of a brown‘colour* the lip and margins of the sternum being the darkest, and
the maxillae, which are slightly tinged with yellow, being much the palest. The legs are
robust, provided with hairs, sessile spines, and hair-like papillae on the inferior surface of the
tarsi, and have a pale, yellow-brown h u e ; the fourth pair is the longest, then the first, and
the third pair is the shortest; each tarsus is terminated by two curved, pectinated claws.
The palpi resemble the legs in colour, with the exception of the radial and digital joints,
which have a brown hue; the humeral joint is curved towards the cephalo-thorax; the radial
joint projects from its extremity, towards the outer side, a strong apophysis, whose enlarged
and depressed termination applies to the superior surface of the digital joint. This last joint
is oval, convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs, which are
highly developed, moderately complex in structure, with a depressed, slightly eurved process
towards the inner side, which is directed downwards, and are of a red-brown colour. The
abdomen is oviform, convex above, and projects a little over the base o f the cephalb-thorax;
it is of a brownish-black colour, but is clothed with glossy, reddish hairs, and has some long,
black hairs at its anterior extremity; on each side of the medial line of the anterior region of
the upper part there are three minute, pale spots, disposed in pairs; to these spots succeeds
a series of curved, transverse lines of the same hue, which have their convexity directed
forwards, and diminish in extent as they approach the spinners; a faint, longitudinal, whitish
line occurs on each side of the middle of the under part, and the branchial opereula and
spinners have a pale, yellow-brown hue. The light-coloured spots and lines are little
conspicuous except when the spider is submerged in spirit, and then the colour and lustre of
the reddish hairs disappear.
An adult female of this species has not yet been discovered; individuals which, judging
from their dimensions, must nearly have arrived at maturity, differ from the male in colour
solely in being paler.
Specimens of Drassus clavator were received from the Rev. 0 . P. Cambridge, who took
an adult male on the sand-hills at Southport, in the spring of 1859, and immature females
under stones in Portland, in the autumn of the same year.
Drassus serîcëus. Pi. VI, fig. 67.
• Drassus senceus, Sund., Vet. Acad. Handl., 1831, p. 136.
— ... ■ Walclc., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt., tom. i, p. 619.
— — Koch, Die Arachn., Band vi, p. 37, tab. 190, figs. 457, 458-.
—' — Blackw., Linn. Trans., vol. xix, p. 113.
— Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second serie», vol. viii,
p. 40.
Filistata scricea, "Wider, Museum Senckenberg. Band i, p. 204, taf. 14, fig. 3.
Length o f the female, &ths o f an in ch ; length o f the cephalo-thorax, Jtli, breadth, jth ;
breadth o f the abdomen, Jth ; length o f a posterior leg , | ; length o f a le g o f the third
pair, Ijths.
The eyes are disposed on the anterior part o f th e Cephalo-thorax in two transverse,
nearly parallel rows, th e intermediate ones o f the anterior row, which is the shorter, being the
large st o f the eight. T he cephalo-thorax is oval, convex, pointed before, and covered with
short, silky hairs o f a lightish hue, interspersed with long, upright, b la c k ‘ones. T he falces
are strong, conical, rather prominent, and armed with a few small teeth on the inner surface ;
the maxillæ are powerful, convex at the base and on the outer side, depressed on the inner
side, with an oblique, transverse groove near th e extremity ; the lip is long, oval, and rounded
at the apex ; the sternum, which is glossy, is o f an oblong-oval form, narrower at the anterior
than at the posterior extremity, and has sligh t eminences on the sides, opposite to th e le g s ;
the le g s are robust, and are provided with hairs and sessile spines ; the posterior pair is the
longest, and the third pair is the shortest, the first and second pairs b eing equal in length, or
very nearly so ; each tarsus has hair-like papillae distributed On its inferior surface, and is
terminated by two Gurved, deeply pectinated claws ; the palpi are strong, and have a curved,
pectinated claw at their extremity. Thèse parts are o f a reddish-brown Colour, the falces,
maxillæ, and lip b eing the darkest. T he abdomen is oviform, somewhat depressed, broader
at the posterior than at the anterior extremity, and is thickly covered with short, silky, black
hairs; on the upper part.there are four small dépréssions forming a quadrilateral figure, and
at th e anterior extremity, where it touches the Cephalo-thorax, there is â tuft o f long, black
hairs ; the under part is tinged with brown, and has a fine, indented, longitudinal line on
each side o f th e middle ; th e spinners are nearly cylindrical, prominent, and o f a pale-brown
colour, th e intermediate pair being united at th e base ; and the branchial opereula have a!
yellow hue.
The male resembles the female in colour, but it is smaller, and the first pair o f le g s i*
rather longer than the second pair. The cubital and radial joints o f the palpi are short, the
latter projecting a strong, pointed apophysis from its extremity, OH thé outer side ; the digital
joint is o f an oblong-oval form, convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the
palpal organs, which are moderately developed, and not very complicated in structuré ; they