Open Access

William Frederick Purcell

• The present paper contains an account of that portion of the Araneae collected by Dr. Lt SCHULTZE in South Africa, which falls into the families given in the following list, the numbers in the list being the total number of examples collected of each family and the number of species identified or described in this paper: Fam. Aviculariidae 66 examples 11 species (10 new) Fam. Dictynidae 14 examples 3 species (1 new) Fam. Eresidae 1057 examples 10 species ( 6 new) Fam. Sicariidae 46 examples 7 species ( 4 new) Fam. Dysdeddae 144 examples 6 species ( 4 new) Fam. Caponiidae 26 examples 1 species Fam. Prodidomidae 1 example 1 species Fam. Drassidae 557 examples 27 species (21 new) Totals: 1911 examples 66 species (46 new) Dr. SCHULTZE is to be congratulated on the large number of specimens obtained by him. The most extensive collections were made in Little Namaqualand, but a considerable number of specimens were also obtained in Great Namaqualand (including Possession Island) and in the Kalahari (in the Bechuanaland Protectorate), while a small number came from Southern Hereroland (S. Damaraland) and from the Cape Peninsula. With the exception of the last, all these localities represent practically new fields for the collector of Aranee, for, so far as I am aware, no extensive collections have ever been made in any of them before, and only a. few odd species have been recorded from time to time. Accordingly more than two-thirds of the total number of species described or identified in this paper are new to science, although the genera to which they belong are in all cases identical with those of the other and better known dry portions of the interior of Cape Colony. If the gregarious Eresidae (StegodyphuS) be excluded from the above list, it will be seen that the Drassidae are by far the most numerous both in individuals and species, being followed in number by the non-gregarious Eresidae and the Dysderidae. But it must be borne in mind that the underground Aviculariidae, particularly the Trap-door forms, were probably not collected as thoroughly as the other spiders, owing to the extreme difficulty generally experienced in discovering their retreats. Nevertheless Dr. SCHULTZE obtained at least 7 species, which may with confidence be placed among the trap-door building forms, belonging to the genera ldiops, Stasimopus, Pelmatorycter and Ancylotrypa. The two largest spiders obtained were a large Harpactira from Great and Little Namaqualand, and a new Ceratogyrus from the Kalahari, the latter having a peculiar horn in the middle of the cephalothorax above.