Abstract: Seven species have been described in Pseudanurida but examination of types or of material from near the type localities shows that only P. billitonensis t P. bogo yawlensky, P. glauerti and P. sawayana are valid. A further new species, P. yini, is de scribed from Malaya. Descriptions are given with special attention to chaetotaxy, together with full synonymy, a key and comparative plates. Pseudanurida is a genus of black, poduromorph Collembola very characteristic of the inter-tidal zone throughout the tropics. Two keys to the genus have recently been published by Schuster (1965) and Massoud (1967) but both relied heavily on the literature and the taxonomy remains confused by old descriptions of doubtful synonymy. As I have either seen types or collected fresh material from or near the type localities of the doubtful species, a further revision is found necessary. Although seven names have been proposed in the genus and a further species is described here, only 5 valid species are recognized. A key to these is provided in the text and in addition, 3 of the figures are so arranged as to provide independent comparisons from which complete or fragmentary material may be identified. The genus was established by Schott (1901) for P. billitonensis from a sand bank off the Indonesian island of Billiton. Becker (1905) proposed Pseudachorutides for P. bogoyawlensky from foraminiferous sands off Bahrain island in the Persian Gulf. Most workers have since treated Pseudachorutides as a synonym of Pseudanurida although Yosii (1955) considered that they could both be justifiably maintained. They are treated here as one since in its broad sense, Pseudanurida is easily recognized by the combination of long furcula and styliform mouthparts found in no other Collembola. Two further species have been described from the Near East, JP. clysmae Jackson 1927 and P. dollfusi Denis 1938, but because of the incomplete description of P. bogoyawlensky they have remained problematical. Neachorutes glauerti was described by Womersley (1933) from Western Australia but was later synonymized by him with P. billitonensis and this attribution has not been questioned. Re-examination of Womersley's types now shows that it is an independent species of which P. australica Salmon 1955 appears to be a synonym. Murphy (1965) attributed to P. bogoyawlensky a species from Gambia (West Africa) having also collected it in Southeast Asia and assuming it to be pan- tropical. Schuster (1965) described the same species from Brazil as a new species, P. sawayana.
Publication Year: 1971
Publication Date: 1971-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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