The paturon is always extremely hard and strong. In Theraphosae of burrowing habits the distal end is furnished with a group of powerful teeth, the “rastellus.” The groove for the reception of the unguis is often guarded on one side or on both by rows of teeth, the arrangement of which is frequently an important specific character. The inner anterior border is also often furnished with a group of stiff hairs or bristles. This powerful joint is of use in crushing and expressing the fluids of insects pierced by the ungues. The crescent-shaped unguis is tapering and smooth, except for the presence, on the posterior surface, of one or two feebly dentated ridges. Near its free extremity there is a small orifice leading to the poison reservoir and gland. In the genus _Pholcus_ (see p. 401) the chelicerae may almost be regarded as chelate, the unguis being met by a spiny projection from the inner anterior border of the paturon. =Rostrum.=—On examining a spider, even under a dissecting microscope, it will not be easy at first to discover the mouth. Indeed, Lyonnet had almost come to the conclusion that Spiders, like some Myrmelionid larvae, imbibed the juices of their prey by way of the mandibles, before he found the orifice and gave a remarkably accurate description of the adjacent parts. If a specimen be placed on its back, and the labium raised while the chelicerae are pushed forward, no orifice is visible, but on careful examination it will be found that what appears to be a thick and fleshy labium is, in reality, two organs. The labium is thin and flat, and closely opposed to its upper surface is a somewhat flattened cone. This is the “rostrum,” and when it is separated from the labium the buccal orifice is disclosed. In a few spiders (Archeidae) in which the chelicerae are far removed from the mouth, the rostrum is tolerably conspicuous, but in most it is so hidden as to have escaped the observation of the great majority of observers. Schimkewitsch considers it homologous with the labrum of insects, but Simon thinks that it represents all the insect mouth-parts reduced to an exceedingly simple form. It is more probable that a beak consisting of a simple labrum and labium was a primitive Arachnid characteristic. If the rostrum be removed and its inner (or posterior) surface examined, a lance-shaped chitinous plate, the “palate,” becomes visible. It is furrowed down the middle by a narrow groove, which is converted into a tube for the passage of fluids when the rostrum is opposed to the labium. [Illustration: FIG. 178.—Pedipalp of _Tegenaria domestica_ ♂, × 5. 1, Coxa; 2, maxilla; 3, trochanter; 4, femur; 5, patella; 6, tibia; 7, tarsus; 8, palpal organ. ] =Pedipalpi.=—The pedipalpi are extremely leg-like feelers, and are six-jointed, the metatarsal joint of the ambulatory legs being absent. The joints, therefore, are the coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, and tarsus (Fig. 178).[258]