[Read before Otago Branch, July 13, 1943; received by the Editor, July 21, 1943; issued separately, March, 1944].

The following description is based on a single dried specimen collected by Dr. F. J. Turner near Lake Manapouri, in December, 1937. Four species have been described belonging to this genus, two from Australia (Sörensen, 1884, and Pocock, 1902) and two from New Zealand. Of the New Zealand species, M. chiltoni was recorded from Stewart Island by Hogg (1909), and M. fabulosa from the North Island by Phillipps and Grimmett (1932). An early reference to a species of Megalopsalis appears to have been made by Colenso (1882), but he was unable to decide on the systematic position of his specimens.

Suborder Palpatores.
Family Phalangiidae.
Genus Megalopsalis Roewer, 1923.

Megalopsalis turneri n.sp.

Carapace and eye-tubercle smooth; with only a few small bristles, mostly in front of the eye-tubercle. The anterior edge of the eye-tubercle is equidistant from the anterior and posterior edges of the carapace. The chelicerae are thickly covered with tubercles, which are most numerous on the distal segment. The proximal segment is more or less uniform in diameter, while the distal segment is swollen. The movable finger is slightly curved and is provided with two stout teeth, one near the base, the other a little more than half way towards the tip. There are also a number of small teeth between the distal tooth and the tip of the finger. The teeth on the fixed finger resemble those on the movable one, the distal tooth being the stoutest of all the teeth. When closed, the teeth of the movable finger lie on the distal side of those on the fixed finger, and the tips of the fingers cross, the movable below the fixed one. The

End segments of the right chelicerae, seen from above, of M. turneri, A, M. fabulosa, B, and M. chiltoni, C. B is after Phillipps and Grimmett, and C is after Hogg. All tubercles and bristles are omitted, and the figures are drawn to different scales.

patella of the palp is shorter than the tibia and has a process at the anterior end on the mesial side. The trochanters of the legs are without spines or tubercles, having only a few small bristles. The femora of the palps and the femora and tibiae of the legs have a considerable number of very small spines as well as bristles. These are not present on the patellae. On the third and fourth legs there are one or two slightly larger spines at the distal end of the femur and patella. The tibia of the second leg has six spurious articulations.

The colour cannot be described in detail owing to the dry state of the specimen. In general it is dark brown with an area in the mid-dorsal region of the carapace, and a ring round the femur and tibia of each leg, of a lighter yellowish colour. The eye-tubercle is dark, and the distal end of the second segment of the chelicerae is reddish brown.

Sex, not determined. The following measurements are in millimeters:

Cephalothorax: Length, 3.0; breadth, 5.0.

Chelicerae: First segment, 9.5; second segment, 13.5; extreme breadth of second segment, 2.3.

The figures in brackets are approximate owing to the curves in the tarsi.

M. turneri differs from M. fabulosa in the shape of the chelicerae, which are longer and narrower and havé straighter fingers. Other differences are the greater length of the palps and legs, the absence of spines on the trochanters, and the presence of spines on other segments of the legs. The figure of M. fabulosa apparently shows the eye-tubercle at the posterior margin of the carapace, and two claws on each leg, the latter presumably in error.

M. turneri resembles M. chiltoni much more closely. It differs from it in the larger and more swollen chelicerae, with two large teeth instead of one on the movable finger. The specimen of M. chiltoni had a cephalothorax 2.5 mm. in both length and breadth, while those of M. turneri and M. fabulosa are broader than they are long. The proportions of the chelicerae are also different, the lengths of the first and second segments in M. chiltoni being 7 and 8 mm. (1:1.14), while in M. turneri they are 9.5 and 13.5 mm. (1:1.44).

The specimen of M. turneri has been deposited in the Otago Museum.

References.

Colenso, W., 1882. On some newly-discovered New Zealand Arachnids. Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 15, pp. 165–173.

Hogg, H. R., 1909. Some New Zealand and Tasmanian Arachnidae. Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 42, pp. 273–283.

Phillipps, W. J., and Grimmett, R. E. R., 1932. Some new Opiliones from New Zealand. P.Z.S. Lond. B., pp. 731–740.

Pocock, R. I., 1902. On some new Harvest-Spiders of the Order Opiliones from the Southern Continents. P.Z.S. Lond., pp. 392–413.

Sorensen, W., 1884–1889. Die Arachniden Australiens, Koch and Keyserling, p. 54.