OHIKXTAL COr-LKMBOLA. 1 1 .'5 



The inferior claws nearly as long as the superior claws, unarmed ; 

 their distal portion abruptly narrowed, becoming acicular. A 

 single long stout tenent hair in relation to each foot. 



Ventral Tube. — Long and cylindrical, emitting a pair of elongate 

 vesicles, each of the latter subdivided into a longer and shorter 

 lobe (fig. 80). 



Farcula. — As long as the abdomen ; the manubrium related in 

 length to tlie dens as 10 : 13. The mucro (fig, 82) brof^d and 

 flattened, inclined at an obtuse angle with the long axis of the 

 dens ; armed with an outer and inner terminal tooth and a row 

 of three sharply pointed teeth along its dorsal edge, situated one 

 behind the other. The apex of the dens provided with stout 

 elongate set* slightly longer than the mucro (fig, 82), 



Coloration. — The ground colour varying from light yellow to 

 brown-yellow with markings of brownish purple. The antennas 

 purplish ; the posterior half of the head, together with the 

 lateral and anterior margins of the mesothorax, and the first 

 three abdominal segments, suS"used with brownish purple. The 

 fourth abdominal segment suffuged with the same colour along 

 its sides, and along its anterior and posterior margins, A broad 

 transverse band of similar colour crosses the middle of the seg- 

 ment, but is interrupted in the mid-dorsal line. The eyes on a 

 black patch on each side of the head. The furcula and ventral 

 tube yellowish white. The legs with the tibial joints almost 

 entirely dark purple except for a whitish suflfusion at the apex of 

 their distal joint. The femora suflTused with purple, especially 

 towards their apices. 



Length. Average length measures 3" 7 mm. 



Five examples, taken from among dry leaves and stones along 

 the edge of a jungle-stream at Maddathoray, W. base of W, Ghats, 

 Travancore, S. India (iV. Annandale, November 18th, 1908), 



No. — - Indian Museum Coll. 



lo 



In none of the five specimens were the antennae perfect, except 

 in the case of the example figured on PI. VI. The number 

 of joints (3) is exceptional among Collembola, and it is not 

 unlikely that the antenna has been injured and has not re- 

 generated the full number of joints (4), Such examples are 

 known to be not infrequent in Tomocerus, Orchesolla, and other 

 genera. 



Genus Idiomerus, gen. nov, 



Mesonotum proviineas, conictis. Ocelli 16:8 in utroque latere 

 capitis ; organa postantennalia carent, Antenrice quinque- 

 articulatce ; articulis basalis perparvus, ultimus longissimus. 

 Cutis squamosa. 



This genus is easily recognisable by the remarkable form of the 

 mesonotum, which pi'ojects upwards in the form of a cone abov^ 

 the level of the rest of the body (text-fig. 15). 



Proc. Zool. See— 1912, No. VIII. 8 



