114 COLLEMBOLA FRO^M NORTHERN SARAWAK. 



Pseudosira was to be compared with Sira as my previously 

 classified Calif ornian genus Drepanura with Entomohrya. 

 Later on I got a bit doubtful and thought that I possibly had 

 overrated the importance of the shape of the mucronal segment 

 and suggested sinking Drepanura as synonymous with Ento- 

 mohrya and Pseudosira as synonymous with Sira. At least 

 the latter proposal turned out to be wrong as T at tliat time did 

 not give due consideration to the type of the scales and other 

 characters as will be mentioned in th.e following. 



In 1906 Borner believed himself to have rediscovered the 

 genus in a species from British Central Africa, called Pseu- 

 dosira nyassicti. He pointed out that this form had rounded 

 scales and that also the furcula was covered with scales and 

 therefore nlaced Pseudosira as a subgenus to Lepidocyrtns. 

 This arrangement of his was criticised by Wahlgren(^) who 

 had worked up a large amount of material from Egypt and 

 Sudan. Wahlgren deals with the question in the following 

 way : — 



"It seems quite impossible to keep Lepidocyrtns s. str. and 

 Pseudosira even as subgenera, as Borner does. There is no 

 marked differences bet^^een a protruding and a not protruding 

 mesonotum as all intermediate states are to be found and 

 the shape of the scales is considerably varying even on 

 different parts of the body of the same individual." 



Wahlgren therefore out of pure practical reasons proposes 

 to reduce Pseudosira and divide the genus Lepidocyrtns in 

 two sections Falciformes and Bidentictdati in accordance with 

 the sliape and structure of tlie mucronal segment. This 

 arrangement first appealed to me as justified as a means of 

 getting out of the diPficulties, and I therefore accepted it 

 when working up Dr. Mjoberg's Australian material. 



I have, ho^^'ever, now good reasons to change my opinion 

 again. I have been fortunate enough to procure a couple 

 of specimens of Pseudosira eleqans from Camerun, about ten 

 specimens of another species from the Amazon and several 

 specimens from Borneo. A close comparison between those 

 shows that Pseudosira must be kept up as a distinct genus, for 

 which I would like to give the following diagnosis : — 



Habitus Sira-like ; Antennae foiu'-jointed with II and III 

 in full-grown specimens of equal size and lY slightly longer 



(^) Apterygot. aus. A gypt und d. Sudan (Results of the Swed. Zool. 

 Exped. to Egypt and White Nile, 1901). 



