C lN IF L O ATROX. PI. IX, fig . 8 8 .
Ciniflo atrox, Blackw., Linn. Trans., vol. xviii, p. 607.
— — Blackw., Annals and Mag. of N at. Hist., second series, vol. viii, p. 98.
Clubiona atrox, Walck., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt., tom. i, p. 605.
— — Latr., Gen. Crust, et Insect., tom. i, p. 93.
— Sund., Yet. Acad. Handl., 1831, p. 144.
— Im c i Hahn, Die Arachn., Band i, p. 115, tab. 30, fig. 87.
Atnawrobius atrox, Koch, Uebers. des Arachn. Syst., erstes Heft, p. 15.
— — Koch, Die Arachn., Band x, p. 116, tab. 355, fig. 831.
Tilulus 21, Lister, Hist. Animal. Angl., De Aran., p. 68, tab. i, fig. 21.
Length of the female, §ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, gth, breadth, ^ th ;
breadth of the abdomen, gth; length of an anterior leg, ^ths; length of a leg of the third
pair, grd.
The cephalo-thorax is rounded on the sides, compressed before, convex, glossy, thinly
clothed with hairs, depressed and broadly truncated in front, and marked with furrows on the
sides, which converge towards the middle; its colour is reddish-brown, the anterior part,
which is much the darkest, in some specimens approaching to black. The falces are powerful,
conical, vertical, gibbous in front, near the base, armed with a few teeth on the inner surface,
and of a brownish-black colour. The sternum is somewhat oval, but pointed at its posterior
extremity; this part, with the maxillae and lip, is of a reddish-brown hue, the lip being the
darkest, and the sternum the palest. The legs are robust, provided with hairs and strong
spines, of a pale, reddish-brown tint, the tarsi being the darkest» and are marked with soot-
coloured annuli; the inferior tarsal claw has a fine, curved tooth on each side, near its base.
The palpi resemble the legs in colour, but are without annuli; they have a curved, pectinated
claw at their extremity. The abdomen is oviform, rather broader at the posterior than at the
anterior extremity, convex above, hairy, projecting over the base of the cephalo-thorax; it is
of a dark-brown colour, with a large, quadrilateral, black band, bordered laterally and
posteriorly with pale-yellow, extending from the anterior extremity nearly to the middle of the
upper part; the posterior part of the black band is the broadest, and its margins, which
present an irregular outline, are the darkest; between the black band and the spinners there
is a series of rather obscure, yellowish, angular lines, whose vertices are directed forwards,
and the sides and under part are thickly spotted and streaked with black; the spinners have
a dull-yellowish tint; a broad, glossy, dark, red-brown septum separates the orifices of the
sexual organs, arid the colour of the branchial opercula is pale-yellow.
The male is smaller than the female, the anterior part of its cephalo-thorax is lighter
coloured, and its legs, which are longer and slenderer, differ also in their relative length, the
second pair equaling or even slightly surpassing the fourth pair in longitudinal extent. The
cubital and radial joints of the palpi are short, the latter, which is the larger, being provided
with several apophyses; one situated in front, towards the inner side, is slightly curved and
somewhat pointed; another, on the outer side, is straight and rounded at the extremity; and
between these two there is a short projection, having two processes, one obtuse and the
other pointed; underneath, the extremity of the joint is bifid; the digital joint is somewhat
oval, with a prominent lobe on the outer side, and a bold protuberance at the upper part,
near its articulation with the radial joint; it is convex and hairy externally, concave within,
comprising the palpal organs, which are highly developed, complicated in structure, with a
strong, curved process and some delicate, white membrane at their extremity, and a large, prominent
part, contiguous to which there is a small, curved process, situated near the middle;
their colour is red-brown.
Remarkable differences in structure, functions, and economy effectually serve to distinguish
the spiders belonging to the genus Ciniflo from those of the genera Clubiona and
Amaurobius, with which they have been associated by arachnologists; all of them have an
additional or fourth pair of spinners, and on the superior part of the metatarsus of each
posterior leg there is a calamistrum, consisting of two parallel rows of moveable spines, which
is employed in the fabrication of their extensive and curiously constructed webs; they are
also sedentary in their habits, most frequently occupying crevices in rocks, walls, or the bark
of old trees, between which and their snares a communication is effected through the medium
of one or more slight, silken tubes. Though the importance of these characters is admitted
by M. Walckenaer, yet he still retains the species of Ciniflo among the Clubiona (‘ Hist. Nat.
des Insect. Apt./ tom. iv, pp. 444, 445).
The female of this common spider in the month of June deposits about seventy spherical
eggs, of a pale-yellow colour, not agglutinated together, in a cocoon of white silk of a loose
texture, measuring seven twenty-fourths of an inch in diameter; it is nearly of a plano-convex
figure, and is connected with the interior surface of an oval cell of white, curled silk, on the
outside of which bits of soil and other extraneous materials are distributed. This cell is
generally constructed in or near the spider’s retreat.
On the 14th of September, 1842, an adult female of this species was captured, in which
the left intermediate eye of the posterior row was entirely wanting.
The dimensions of Clubiona ( Ciniflo) atrox given by M. Hahn (‘Die Arachn./ Band i,
p. 115) have, most probably, been taken from Ciniflo similis or from Ciniflo ferox.
This species is of frequent occurrence in Scotland and Ireland.
Ciniflo simtlis. PI. IX, fig. 89.
Ciniflo ferox, Blackw., Linn. Trans., vol. xix, p. 116.
— — Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist,, second series, vol. viii, p. 99.
Length of the female, éàths of an inch ; length of the cephalo-thorax, jth, breadth, gth ;
breadth of the abdomen, ,th ; length of fen anterior leg, Ȥths ; length of a leg of the third
pair, J. •