THE SPIDERS OF ESSEX
61
anywhere between Friday Wood and Pelgate Wood on the one hand
and Mersea on the other.
Singa pygmaea Sund.
A single female, at the edge of the Epeira quadrata lawn.
Agnyphantes lepidus Cb.
Three adult females, Pelgate Wood. At the time of capture I was
quite sure they belonged to some species unknown to me, and was
greatly surprised when on closer examination they proved to be speci-
fically identical with Cambridge's Bolyphantes expunctus, which hitherto
has not been met with in Britain south of Glasgow. But these Essex
specimens differed greatly from those taken by me in Moray, where I
beat them in scores from the lichenous branches of conifers in Altyre
Forest. The prevailing hue of the Scottish spiders was a pale pink ;
these were creamy yellow, without the slightest tinge of pink, and the
whole dorsal aspect of the abdomen uniformly reticulate. Both forms
have the three longitudinal black bars (one medium, one lateral on each
side) on the dorsum, but one of my southern specimens has each lateral
reduced to three spots and the medium lacking altogether. (See Fig. 3.)
These lateral bars are one mark of departure from the Leptyphantes
norm in which the laterals are three or more on each side and transverse.
More distinctive is the difference in dentition. In Leptyphantes the
secondary (or inner) teeth of the fang-grove are five, unequal, con-
tiguous ; in Agnyphantes, two only, equal, and quite separate.
Continental authors make this spider a Leptyphantes, and all except
Simon follow Kulczynski in calling it L. lepidus Cb. Simon (or
his editors) make it L. expunctus Cb. Cambridge with better reason
included it in Bolyphantes. Recently I have proposed a genus Agny-
phantes with this species as type, and most probably mughi Fickert
and pulcher Kulczynski as congeners, either of which may some day be
turned up in some of our alpine or subalpine regions.
Pachygnatha clerckii Sund.
Mersea, near the Strood. Quite general, I suppose, where the right
damp habitat is found.
Amaurobius ferox Wk.
A single female in the garden at Shrublands. A. similis was also
a solitary specimen, from a wall at Forres House.
Dictyna puella Sim.
Three females from furze in a farm lane. D. pusilla was also
present as well as on hawthorn in one or two places.
Lathys puta Cb.
A single female in a tube from Pelgate Wood, not noted at the
time of capture. A very rare and interesting species recorded from
Kynance Cove and Lundy. The female has not been figured in this
country, so I give a drawing of the epigyne which incidentally shows
how the whole of the underside is dappled with round white spots.
The upper side, which like the venter is of a pitchy brown colour, is
also spotted, but with very minute yellow points.
Hahnia helveola Sim.
Friday Wood, both sexes, in the summer of 1935. Not a common
spider, though widely distributed.
Tegenaria atrica K.
In and about buildings, with strong partiality for greenhouses. In
the open much less frequent and of smaller stature.