PALPI.
In front of the legs are the palpi, [Fig. 1], C, C,—a smaller pair of limbs, with six joints and only one claw or none. They are used as feelers, and for handling food, and, in the males, carry the curious palpal organs, which will be described farther on. The basal joints, [Fig. 1], E, of the palpi are flattened out, and serve as chewing-organs, called “maxillæ.”
Fig. 3.
Mr. Mason has lately described, in the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, a large spider which has teeth on the inside of the palpi, which, when the spider is angry, are rubbed against teeth on the mandibles, producing a noise.