566 IVAR TRAGARDH 
took them for such until the boiling of one specimen in lactic acid convinced 
me of my mistake. ; 
It is of great interest that BERLESE describes the legs of P. ornatissimus 
as »laciniati» and writes of P. votundatus: »Corpus et pedes pellicula pellucida, 
rugulosa inducta» (I. c. p. 96). 
One of the most astonishing features of the genus is, however, the arti- 
culation of the legs, which, as far as I know, is unique amongst the Oribatei. 
As a rule, whenever there is a condylus developed which turns in a socket, 
the condylus is to be found at the basal end of the distal joint, the socket 
being furnished by an excavation and a collar-shaped structure of the proximal 
joint. In the species from Juan Fernandez, however, the socket is found at the 
basal end of the distal joint which embraces the distal end of the proximal 
joint. This applies to the articulations between femur and genu, genu and 
tibia, and tibia and tarsus (figs. 28— 30). 
BERLESE does not mention anything about this peculiar feature in any of 
the four species described by him, but fortunately his drawing of P. rotundatus 
is so exact (I. c. fig. 76, pl. 7) that we are able to see planly that at least 
between the femur and genu there is the same kind of articulation. We must 
assume that the other species of the genus have the same structure. 
The remaining features of the genus Platerem@us may conveniently be 
discussed after the description of the new species. 
Diagnosis: Hysterosoma broadly rounded, flat or adpressed, cov- 
ered by thin, reticulated larval and nymphal shields, the centre of 
which is in front of the middle and which are easily detached. Cu- 
ticle areolated and covered by a thick layer of secretion. Inter- 
lamellar hairs very small, lamellar hairs inserted near anterior mar- 
gin of rostrum. Tectopedia I present, horn-shaped. Femur, genu 
and tibia articulating in sockets of resp. genu, tibia and tarsus. 
Three claws on a peduncle. 
Systematic position of Plateremezeus. 
When endeavouring to ascertain the systematic position of Platereme@eus 
one of its chief characteristics, the presence of the larval and nymphal skins 
does not give us much aid, because this feature appears independently in 
several families, which are not closely related, as in Meolzodide, Dameide and 
Dameosomide (Licneremeus). Nevertheless it seems evident that Plateremeus 
is related, although distantly, to the subfamily Meoliodine of the family (WVeo- 
liodide. 
I draw this conclusion from the examination of a new species of Platere- 
meus from South Africa, which as regards the shape of the exuvia resembles 
Platyliodes but at the same time has the articulation of the legs peculiar to 
Plateremeus vestitus and in other respects resembles P. rotundatus. 
I have been able to examine P/atyliodes and have abundant material from 
Neoliodes both from Juan Fernandez and from South Africa and have thus 
