48 ; The Philippine Journal of Science 1921 
Family RHINOTERMITIDZ Banks | 
Mesotermitide Holmgren. 
Genus PRORHINOTERMES Silvestri 
Arrhinotermes Wasmann. 
DIAGNOSIS 
Adult—Head broadly egg-shaped, nearly circular. Clypeus 
much broader than long, swollen. Antennz with 19 to 22 seg- 
ments. Pronotum narrower than the head. Wing membrane 
weakly haired, strongly reticulate. The median of both wing 
pairs arises from the cubitus or is lacking or arises from the 
radial sector in hind wing (P. luzonensis!). 
Soldier.—Head distinctly narrowed distally. Compound eyes 
present, distinct or vestigial. Fontanelle distinct. From the 
fontanelle there runs forward a more or less distinct channel. 
Fontanelle gland large, extending far backward into the body. 
Antenne of 16 or 17 segments. 
Worker.—Clypeus rather large. With or without distinct com- 
pound eyes. 
SYSTEMATIC POSITION 
In 1902 Wasmann described the genus Arrhinotermes for a 
new species, A. heimi from Ceylon, based on adults only. In 
an appendix to the same article he describes A. oceanicus, based 
‘on adults from Cocos Island. Holmgren (1911) points out that 
A. heimi Wasmann is apparently a Coptotermes, and Bugnion 
in 1910 had reported the adults described by Wasmann as 4. 
heimi to be nothing else than the adults of Coptotermes travians 
(Haviland). As Holmgren points out, therefore, according to 
the rules of nomenclature, A. heimi being considered as the type, 
Arrhinotermes becomes a synonym. Banks (1920) replaces it 
by Prorhinotermes Silvestri (1909). Holmgren, however, in 
view of the fact that A. oceanicus Wasmann described in the 
appendix to the same article is a true Arrhinotermes, retains 
that generic name with A. oceanicus Wasmann as the type. 
If we are to follow the rules of nomenclature, Arrhinotermes 
must be considered a synonym and I am, therefore, following 
Banks in this matter. 
The genus Prorhinotermes seems to be peculiarly an island 
genus and while widely distributed is represented by few 
species and those apparently closely related. So far as I am able 
to ascertain, no other region has yet produced two species of this 
