and described by Prof. Westwood,[1] which seems intermediate between the two. The door in this case may perhaps be considered as of the cork type, though it is very thin, for it does fit into the mouth of the tube, which is bevelled to receive it.
These nests were forwarded with their living occupants (Cteniza [Actinopus] ædificatorius) from Tangiers to Prof. Westwood, who describes the nests as being "about four inches deep, slightly curved within, about three quarters of an inch in diameter, the valve at the mouth not being circular, but rather of an oval form, one side where the hinge is placed being straighter than the other. The valve is formed of a number of layers of coarse silk, in the upper layers of which are imbedded particles of the earth, so as to give the cover the exact appearance of the surrounding soil, the several successive layers causing it, when more closely inspected, to resemble a small flattened oyster-*shell."
The resemblance between this nest and that of the West Indian species is the more interesting as Prof. Westwood says that both belong to the same genus, (Cteniza or Actinopus of different authors,) and are so closely allied as to present scarcely any important distinction but that of size.
We shall find, however, on comparing the nests of these trap-door spiders and their occupants, that we cannot as yet make any rule as to the kind of nest which we may expect from a given spider.
- ↑ Observations on the Species of Trap-door Spiders, in Trans. of Entomological Soc., London, 1841-3, vol. iii. p. 175. I wish to take the present opportunity of thanking Prof. Westwood for having afforded me special facilities for examining this and other specimens forming part of the very valuable collections under his care at Oxford.
