Fig. [204].—A, Oecobius maculatus, much enlarged; B, Uroctea durandi, slightly enlarged. (After Simon.)
The three species of Uroctea are rather large spiders, two being native to Africa, while the third inhabits China and Japan. They are ecribellate. These two genera very closely resemble each other, not only superficially, but in certain structural details—notably the remarkably developed and two-jointed anal tubercle—and their close affinity supplies the strongest argument against separating the spiders which possess cribellum and calamistrum into a group by themselves. In both genera the cephalothorax is very broad and rounded at the sides. The eight eyes are compactly arranged. The sternum is broad and heart-shaped. The legs are nearly of equal length, and the posterior spinnerets have very long terminal joints.
Fam. 6. Sicariidae (Scytodidae).—The Sicariidae are a small group of six-eyed spiders, usually with weak legs and slow halting movements; they live under stones or in outhouses. The cephalothorax is generally smooth and devoid of the median fovea, and the palpal organs of the male are extremely simple. The best known genus is Scytodes, one species of which (S. thoracica) has on rare occasions been found in outhouses in the south of England, in Dorsetshire, and Kent. This is a remarkable spider, about one-third of an inch long, with a pale yellow ground-colour, marked with black spots and patches. The cephalothorax is smooth and dome-shaped, and highest near the posterior end.
All the other members of the family are exotic. Loxosceles is found in the Mediterranean region and all over America, as well as in Japan. The median fovea is present in this genus. Sicarius is a native of America and South Africa. It is of stouter build than Scytodes, and the legs are stronger. Drymusa belongs to South Africa. The peculiar New Zealand species Periegops hirsutus is placed by Simon in this family, as is also the North American genus Plectreurys, notwithstanding its possession of eight eyes.
Fam. 7. Hypochilidae.—Two species only are included in this family, Hypochilus thorelli of North America, and Ectatosticta davidi, a native of China. They have four pulmonary sacs, though they possess little else in common with the “Theraphosae.” The pedipalpus of the male is very remarkable, the tarsus being almost unmodified, and the very small palpal organ being inserted at its extremity. These spiders are cribellate.
Fam. 8. Leptonetidae.—The Leptonetidae are small spiders with smooth and usually dull-coloured integuments. Most of them are cave-living, but some are found amidst vegetable débris in damp spots in forests. The eyes are six in number, and the legs are generally long and thin. There are five genera. Leptoneta has about ten species living in caves in the Pyrenees. The single species of Telema (T. tenella) has the same habitat. Ochyrocera has representatives in tropical Asia and America, and is somewhat more ornate than most members of the group. Usofila has a single species, inhabiting North America, while Theotina is found in caves in the Philippines and in Venezuela.
Fam. 9. Oonopidae.—The Oonopidae are very small spiders, seldom exceeding 2 mm. in length (the largest 4 mm.), living among vegetable débris. Oonops pulcher, the only English representative of the family, is not rare under stones or in the débris at the bottom of hedges. It is a small brick-red spider, easily recognised by its six comparatively large oval eyes, which are pale-coloured, and occupy the whole of the caput.
The minute spiders of this family were until recently overlooked by collectors in foreign countries, but now more than a hundred species have been described, belonging to some eighteen genera. Thirteen species inhabit the Mediterranean region, occurring especially on the African side. In several genera there is a “scutum” or hard plate on the abdomen. This is the case with Dysderina, which has a wide distribution, as have also Ischnyothyreus and Opopaea, and the non-scutate genus Orchestina.
Fam. 10. Hadrotarsidae.—This family contains only two species, Hadrotarsus babirusa from New Guinea, and Gmogala scarabeus from Sydney. In general appearance they resemble the scutate Oonopidae, but they have eight eyes, curiously arranged, two large, somewhat triangular eyes being situated near the middle of the cephalothorax, and two groups of three small eyes on either side of the front part of the caput. These spiders are very minute.
Fam. 11. Dysderidae.—Six-eyed spiders, with long free labium, and long maxillae provided with a well-developed scopula. The cephalothorax is rather flat, and the abdomen is oval or cylindrical, the integument being smooth and usually rather soft. The palpal organ of the male is of simple structure.