Oct., 1920 Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 103 



Subfamily II. XYLASTODORIN^. 



Apex of tibia without membranous apical appendage. Tar- 

 sal claws provided with arolia. Jugse and tylus equally long. 

 Clavus parallel sided. Commissure much shorter than scu- 

 tellum. Hemielytra much wider than abdomen. Venter of the 

 male and female as previously described. (Type — Xylasto- 

 doris luteolus n. sp.) 



Renter in his " Bemerkungen iiber mein neues Heteropteren- 

 system "* places the Thaumastocoridse in the series Onychiophora 

 along with the families Pyrrhocoridse, Lygseidse, Colobathrist- 

 idje and Neidid?e. The characters previously fixed by Renter^ 

 for this series were later'' modified by him to include the Thau- 

 mastocoridae. The discovery now of this new member modifies 

 Renter's system not only so far as the characterization of the 

 family is concerned but if it is to be retained in its original place 

 in his system, at least two further important modifications must 

 be made in the original definition of the Series Onychiopora. In 

 my new genus Xylastodoris the meso- and metasternum are 

 composite and the rostrum, although difficult to see because of 

 the nature of its concealment at base, has apparently but three 

 segments. 



There is no doubt that this new member serves to further 

 demonstrate the primitiveness of the family. And yet if Xylas- 

 todoris is compared with the typically primitive characters of a 

 heteropteron as outlined by Renter^ there is a noticeable occur- 

 rence of less primitive features. Thus following the system of 

 this eminent authority among the structural characters which 

 denote its primitiveness may be mentioned the following: pres- 

 ence of ocelli, four-segmented antennae, hemielytra composed of 

 corium, clavus and membrane, composite meso- and metasternum, 

 homomorphous pairs of legs, abdomen composed of seven or 

 eight segments which are posteriorly asymmetrical (at least in 

 the male), abdominal spiracles [all or] segments 2-7 ventral. 

 Its structural characters which indicate a modification tending 



4 Ofversigt Finska Vet. Soc. Forh., LIV, 49, 1912. 



5 Acta Soc. Sci. Fenn., XXXVII, 75, ipiO- 



6 Op. cit, 31, 1912. 

 ■^ Op. cit., 37, 1910. 



