Spiders from some Pacific Islands

KNOWLEDGE OF THE SPIDERS of the Pacific is largely the result of the work of Berland (1934, et. seqq.). He has published a number of papers dealing with the spiders of the New Caledonian and New Hebridean region; of Samoa; and of the Marquesas, Society, and Austral groups, and other islands in the southeastern Pacific. Recently I have completed a study of the spiders of Western Samoa (not yet published) based on two summers' collecting. It adds considerably to the list of species already known, bringing it to a total of 123 and includes several families not previously known to have representatives in the Pacific region. It is clear that much intensive collecting is needed before more than tentative conclusions can be drawn regarding the geographical distribution of spiders in the Pacific. The present paper records 31 species of spiders from the islands of Niue, Pukapuka, Rarotonga, Tokelau, Tongatabu, and Pitcairn from which few or· none have been known. Forty-nine of the records are new. A new genus and two new species of Salticidae are described. Niue is situated about 400 miles SSW of Samoa and the same distance WNW of Tongatabu. It consists of a single low-lying island some 14 miles long by 10 miles wide. I am indebted to Mr. P. T. Church for sending me specimens of five species, none having been recorded previously. Pukapuka is an atoll in the northern part of the Cook group, 720 miles northwest of