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A HISTORY OF ESSEX ARACHNIDA Spiders, etc. There have been already published two contributions towards a knowledge of the Arachnida of Essex. The first appeared in the Trans. Essex Field Club in 1883 (iv. 41-9), by the Rev. O. Pickard- Cambridge ; the second in 1901 in the Essex Naturalist (xi. 315-8). These two publications had brought the number of records for the county, up to that date, to ninety-five, including ' harvestmen ' and ' false-scorpions.' Many more however have been added from time to time by the present author and others, so that the list has considerably increased and includes at the present time 153 spiders, 3 false-scorpions and 6 harvestmen. The county as physically constituted offers some magnificent situa- tions where Arachnida ought to be found in abundance, though generally speaking a predominance of heavy clay soil is not favourable to the members of this family. None the less however there are several special localities which would always repay a thorough investigation ; Epping Forest and district, Chelmsford, and all the estuaries on the coast, including the salt marshes, such as Benfleet, Burnham-on-Crouch, the Blackwater, and in the neigh- bourhood of Walton-on-the-Naze. So very little collecting however has been hitherto done that the present list must only be regarded as a small contribution which can easily be very largely increased with but little trouble. The initials of those who collected the specimens or recorded their occurrence have been added to names in the list except in cases where the present author is himself responsible for them. Many species were recorded by Rev. O. Pickard-Cambridge (O. P.-C.) and others by Messrs. William Cole and F. P. Smith (F. P. S.). In cases where the generic or specific name quoted is not that under which the spider has usually been recognized in the works of English authors, a note has been added calling attention to the fact. With these few preliminary remarks, we may proceed at once with the list of the spiders of Essex. ARANE^ ARACHNOMORPH& DYSDERID^E Spiders with six eyes and two pairs of stigmatic openings, situated close together on the genital rima ; the anterior pair communicating with lung books, the posterior with tracheal tubes. Tarsal claws, two in Dysdera, three in Harpactes and Segestria. I. Dysdera cambridgii, Thorell. form, orange legs, dark mahogany carapace Broxted. and pale clay-yellow abdomen. The palpal Not uncommon under stones and bark of bulb of the male has no cross-piece at the trees, where it lurks within a tubular retreat. a P ex - The s P ider is also known as D - The spider is easily recognizable by its elongate erythryna, Blackwall. 196