léngth of its legs ié diffèrent, the first and fourth pairs ueing èqtial in longitudinal extent.
The cubital and radial joints of thé pàlpi are short ; the ’latter is terminated by two apophyses,
one, which is situated óft thé ‘inner sidè, ‘is shôrt àhd broad, and thé ôther, whiôh is long and
compressed at its extremity, overlaps the base of the digital joint, in front ; the digital joint
is oval, convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs ; they are
highly developed, complicated in structure, with several strong, curved, pointed processes at
their extremity, and are of a dark, red-brown colour.
M. Walckenaer has placed the Drassus signifer of M. Koch, which is specifically identical
with Drassuk sghestris, among the synonyma of Olubiona (Drassus) lapidioolens, supposing it to
be that species in an immature ’state (‘ Hist. Nat. des Insect. Ap t./ tom. ii, p. 479). Now as
adults of both sexes, taken in the woods about Llanrwst, are invariably much smaller than
Clubiona (Drassus) lapidicolens, and also differ from it materially in colour and in structure,
having the maxillæ more curved towards the lip, and all the essential characters of a Drassus
more highly developed, the name first conferred upon this distinct species is retained.
In July the fémale cönstrusts a lenticular cocoon of white silk, of a fine but 'compact
texture, measuring three tenths of an inch in diameter, which she places in a cavity formed
in the earth beneath stones, and lined with silk, depositing in it about 123 whitish eggs of a
spherical form, not agglutinated together. She is greatly attached to her cocoon, and is with
difficulty compelled to abandon it.
A specimën of this spider was captured in Berwickshire by Mr. Hardy, in the spring of
1849.
D r a s s u s Cu p r e u s . PI. VI, fig. !69.
•Drtis&us ciipreiis, Blaekfr., Research, in Zo'ol., p. 345.
-— Blackw., Annals, and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second 'series, vfcfl. viii,
•p. 41.
pap|jj|jlp rufus, Koch, Die Araclin., Band vi, p. 33, tab. 189, figs. 453, 454.
Length of the female, |ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, Jth, breadth, |th ;
breadth of the abdomen, |th f^leftgth of a posterior leg, ?; length of a leg of the third
pair, |ths.
The cephalo-thorax is oval, convex, sparingly covered with short, fine hairs, and marked
with slight furrows on the sid es; the falces are powerful, cdnical, rather prominent, and armed
with a few teeth on the inner surface ; the maxillae are long, convex at the base, enlarged
where the palpi are inserted, and at the extremity, which is obliquely truncated on the inner
sid e; they are depressed and contracted in the middle, and are curved towards the lip, which
is longer than broad, and truncated at the apex; the sternum is oval, and has small eminences
On its sides, opposite to the leg s ; the legs are robust, moderately hairy, and provided with a
few sessile spines; the fourth pair is the longest, then the first, and the third pair is the
shortest; each tarsus has hair-like papillae on the under side, and is terminated by two curved,
pectinated claws; the palpi have a single curved, pectinated claw at their extremity. These
parts are of a pale, reddish-brown colour, the margins of the cephalo-thorax, sternum, and lip
having a blackish tint. The eyes are disposed on the anterior part of the; cephalq-thorax jn
two transverse, somewhat curved rows, having their convexity directed backwards; the
posterior row is, rather the longer, and the intermediate eyes, which are oval and nearer to
each other than they are to the lateral eyes of the same row, form a quadrangle
with the intermediate eyes of the anterior row. The abdomen is of an oblong-oviform
figure, densely covered with short hairs of a bright, reddish-copper colour, the under
part being the palest; at its anterior extremity, contiguous to the cephalo-thorax, there is
a tuft of long, deep-black hairs, from which a band of a blackish hue, broad before and
tapering to a point behind, extends along the middle of the upper part rather more than half
its length; the spinners are prominent and cylindrical, the inferior pair being the most conspicuous
when in a state of repose; and the branchial opercula are large and of a pale-yellow
colour. The dark band on the upper part of the abdomen is not perceptible in some
individuals, and the abdomen of the female, after the completion of her parental functions,
frequently assumes a grayish-brown hue.
The sexes closely resemble each other in colour, but the male is smaller than the female;
its falces are longer, more prominent, and less powerful, and the relative length of its legs is
different, the first pair being rather longer than the fourth. The radial joint of the palpi is
longer than the cubital, and projects two pointed, corneous apophyses from its extremity, one
on the outer side, and the other, which is very minute, underneath; the digital joint is of an
oblong-oyal form, convex and hairy externally, with a cavity on the under side, at the base,
containing the palpal organs, which are neither highly developed nor very complex in
structure, having a small, dark protuberance near their extremity, towards the outer side, and
a fine, pointed spine, directed downwards, opposite to it, on the inner sid e; their colour is
red-brown.
Though the Drassus rufus of M. Koch, identical with Drassus cupreus, is regarded by
Walckenaer as a variety of Olubiona livida (‘Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt./ tom. ii, p. 479), yet
it possesses all the characteristics of a Drassus in s,o marked a degree that it might be selected
as a type of the genus; consequently, the name originally given to it is retained.
As regards the papillae connected with the inferior spinners of this species, which occurs
under stones in various parts of Great Britain and Ireland, the same law of development holds
good to which attention has been directed in treating upon Drassus ater and Drassus sericeus ;
moreover, the number of papillae is not uniformly the same even in adults of any of these
spiders, but the two minute ones belonging to each spinner are always present.
In June the female constructs a lenticular cocoon of white silk, of a fine but compact
texture, measuring two fifths of an inch in diameter, in which she deposits about 118 spherical
eggs, of a pale-yellow colour, not agglutinated together. The cocoon is envelpped jn a large
sac of very fine, white silk, usually placed in a cavity of the earth underneath a stone, and
this sac generally comprises the female.