The Common Spiders of the United StatesEmerton, J. H. (James Henry)
Science
The Common Spiders of the United States
Emerton, J. H. (James Henry)
Spiders -- United States
$Ceratinella lætabilis.$--This is about the same size as _fissiceps_,--a
sixteenth of an inch long,--but much darker colored, and the males do
not have horns or humps on the head. The cephalothorax and sternum are
dark brown, and the legs dark orange. The thickened circle on the
abdomen (fig. 368) is dark orange brown and the thinner parts gray. In
the female the thick circle is usually wanting and the whole abdomen
dark gray, with lighter spots around the muscular marks. There are also
hardened spots around the stem of the abdomen and under the spinnerets
in both sexes. The head is slightly elevated behind the eyes, a little
more in the male than in the female. The male palpi (figs. 369, 370)
are shorter and stouter than those of _fissiceps_. It lives in dead
leaves and moss, sometimes under stones, and is sometimes found flying
in the autumn.
[Illustration: FIGS. 371, 372, 373. Ceratinella fissiceps.--371,
varieties in the form of the head. 372, 373, palpus of male.]
$Ceratinella fissiceps.$--These little spiders are among the smallest
species, measuring only a sixteenth of an inch in length. The
cephalothorax and abdomen are short and round, and the abdomen has a
round thickened spot on the back, more deeply orange colored than the
part around it. The head is black around the eyes, and a black line
extends backward half the length of the cephalothorax. The head of the
male extends forward over the mandibles, carrying with it the front
middle eyes, and above it is a rounded hump with the hind middle eyes.
The pairs of lateral eyes are opposite the crease between the humps
(figs. 371). The female has at the same point a slight crease across the
head and an elevation before and behind it. They are very common on low
bushes in summer and under leaves in winter, and are occasionally seen
in the autumn flights.
[Illustration: FIGS. 374, 375, 376. Cornicularia directa.--374, male
enlarged sixteen times. 375, head of male showing the double horn. 376,
head of male from above.]
$Cornicularia directa.$--The males and females are of the same size and
about a twelfth of an inch long. The cephalothorax is brown, varying in
different individuals. The abdomen is gray, with the muscular spots
lighter than the rest. The cephalothorax is long, narrowing gradually
toward the head. In the males there is a slender horn extending forward
between the eyes, a little thickened at the end and covered on the upper
side with stiff hairs in rows (fig. 376). Under this horn is a smaller
one about half as long and close against it (fig. 375). In females the
horns are absent, but the shape of the head and arrangement of the eyes
are the same, except that the eyes are closer together. There are
several other species of Cornicularia, some with similar horns and
others with single horns on the heads of the males. They are found under
leaves in winter, on plants and fences, and among the flying spiders in
autumn.
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