I. TRÄGÅRDH, DISCOMEGISTUS NOV. GEN. 19 



III Discomegistus the organs consist of 1) a ridge, which 

 runs from behind coxae IV along the anterior, lateral and 

 posterior margin of 2) a large, transversally oval blotcb, 

 withextremely thin cuticle, which overlaps the ridge laterally 

 and to the walls of which innumerable muscular fibres are 

 attached, which branch off from 4 to 6 larger bundles which 

 meet at a point closely behind coxse IV. 



Wether the entire organs are only highly modified meta- 

 podial shields, as I beheve, or only the ridges or part of them 

 are homologuous with the shields, remains an open qnestion. 

 It is at any råte obvious that they are structures quite dif- 

 ferent from those of Heterozercon, and it is impossible to derive 

 one type from the other. 



Consequently the presence of these structures in the two 

 genera lends no support whatever to the idea of their being 

 closely related. 



As a matter of fact, the only character which is peculiar 

 to both is the presence of a telotarsus on legs I, but it seems 

 doubtful, wether any great importance ought to be attached 

 to this conformity. It seems more probable that it is only 

 a case of a nymphal character persisting in the adult stage. 



As to Discozercon, my opinion, which I am, however, for the 

 time being unable to verify (comp. p. 2), is that it is a relative 

 of Discomegistus and consequently has no place in the Hetero- 

 zerconince. The discs of this genus seem to be of the same 

 shape as in Discomegistus; at least the configuration is the 

 same according to Berlese's description [4, p. 374] »Post 

 quartos pedes discus adest adhsesionis utrinque maximus, in- 

 fundibuhformis, inter pedes quartos et scutum ad latera ani 

 occlusus, scuto suo semicirculari externe fulto.» In order to 

 ascertain this it would, however, be necessary to know above 

 all the shape of the mouth-parts. 



Both genera agree also in a remarkable manner in shape 

 and presence and size of marginal bristles. 



Remains the question, where to place Discomegistus, at 

 least provisionally? 



I believe its place is in the Antennophorince. With this 

 family it has in common the peculiar shape, with some of 

 its genera it shares a marginal shield, separated from the 

 dorsal shield by a narrow strip of soft cuticle, and the dense 

 row of marginal bristles. 



