ppear to differ in no respect from the rest of the family,
waylaying their prey in similar situations and in the same manner.

Another very singular subgenus, met with in Ceylon, is distinguished by
the abdomen being dilated behind, and armed with two long spines,
arching obliquely backwards. These abnormal kinds are not so handsomely
coloured as the smaller species of typical form.]

Separated by marked peculiarities of structure, as well as of instinct,
from the spiders which live in the open air, and busy themselves in
providing food during the day, the _Mygale fasciata_ is not only
sluggish in its habits, but disgusting in its form and dimensions. Its
colour is a gloomy brown, interrupted by irregular blotches and faint
bands (whence its trivial name); it is sparingly sprinkled with hairs,
and its limbs, when expanded, stretch over an area of six to eight
inches in diameter. It is familiar to Europeans in Ceylon, who have
given it the name, and ascribed to it the fabulous propensities, of the
Tarentula.[1]

[Footnote 1: Species of the true _Tarentulae_ are not uncommon in Ceylon;
they are all of very small size, and perfectly harmless.]

By day it remains concealed in its den, whence it issues at night to
feed on larvae and worms, devouring cockroaches[1] and their pupae, and
attacking the millepeds, gryllotalpae, and other fleshy insects. The
Mygale is found abundantly in the northern and eastern parts of the
island, and occasionally in dark unfrequented apartments in the western
province; but its inclinations are solitary, and it shuns the busy
traffic of towns.

[Footnote 1: Mr. EDGAR L. LAYARD has described the encounter between a
Mygale and a cockroach, which he witnessed in the madua of a temple at
Alittane, between Anarajapoora and Dambool. When about a yard apart,
each discerned the other and stood still, the spider with his legs
slightly bent and his body raised, the cockroach confronting him and
directing his antennae with a restless undulation towards his enemy. The
spider, by stealthy movements, approached to within a few inches and
paused, both parties eyeing each other intently: then suddenly a rush, a
scuffle, and both fell to the ground, when the blatta's wings closed,
the spider seized it under the throat with his claws, and dragging it
into a corner, the action of his jaws was distinctly audible. Next
morning Mr. Layard found the soft parts of the body had been eaten,
nothing but the head, tho