OF WASHINGTON. 303 



THE GEOPHILOIDEA OF THE FLORIDA KEYS. 

 By O. F. COOK. 



In March, 1898, I had the opportunity of spending a few hours 

 in collecting between Key West and Pine Key, most of the avail 

 able time being spent at Sugar Loaf Key. The season was very 

 dry, and the humus-inhabiting types of all kinds had burrowed 

 out of reach. Of the four species of Geophiloidea secured, how 

 ever, three are new, and two of these represent new genera with 

 out known relatives in the United States. The group is one so 

 generally neglected by collectors that little can be asserted with 

 confidence concerning the distributional limits of its members, 

 but the available information is utilized in the appended synopses 

 of genera. 



The Geophiloidea collected on the Keys belong to three fami 

 lies, which may be distinguished as follows : 



Antennas clavate ; anal legs very stout, subconic, the joints being mostly 

 broader than long; cephalic and basal lamina very broad, concealing the 

 prehensorial legs from above : Family Ballophilidae. 



Antennae filiform; anal legs long and usually slender, the joints (except 

 the first) distinctly longer than broad; cephalic and basal lamina not con 

 cealing the sides of the prehensorial legs 



Mandibles with 1-3 dentate lamellae in addition to the pectinate lamella; 

 labrum entire : Family Schendylidae. 



Mandibles without dentate lamellae; labrum 3-parted. Family Geo- 

 philidse. 



Four other families of Geophiloidea are known from North 

 America, but have not been reported in the Gulf region. These 

 are the Linotaeniidas, of circumpolar distribution ; the Himan- 

 tariidaa,* known from Mexico and California ; the Dicellophilidae, 



* To this family (Himantariidae) but a single American genus, Chomato- 

 bius Saussure, is at present referred. Through the kindness of Professor 

 Kraepelin, of the Hamburg Museum, I have had the opportunity of study 

 ing a Mexican specimen which agrees closely with Saussure's description, 

 but differs notably from the animal described by Seli wan off from Califor 

 nia as Chomatobius mexicanus Saussure. This latter evidently represents 

 a different generic type, for which the new name Nothobius californicus 

 is proposed. It is distinct from Chomatobius in having a row of small 

 suprascutella, in having the ventral pores in rounded areas, the last pleurae 

 with numerous small pores, and the anal legs with a distinct claw, none 

 of which characters appears in the Mexican specimen, nor in Saussure's 

 description of Chomatobius. Seliwanoff's description is contained in the 

 paper entitled "Geophiiidcz Mus. Imp. Akademii nauk" 1881, p. 24, pi. 

 II, figs. 9 16 



