100 Mr. T. C. Jerdon on new species of Ants 



X. — A Catalogue of the Species of Ants found in Southern 

 India, By T. C. Jerdon, Esq., Assistant Surgeon, Madras 

 Medical Establishment. 



[Concluded from p. 56.] 



2nd Tribe. Ponerites. 



Genus Odontomachus, Lat. 



The single species of Ant which I place under this head ap- 

 pears to correspond pretty well with the characters of the genus 

 which have already been given. 



24. Odontomachus rufus, Jerdon (prll6). 



Worker, length |th of an inch ; head bulging at the sides, 

 narrowed in front ; eyes of moderate size, anterior ; antennse 

 rather long, slender ; jaws closely approached at their base, long, 

 linear, with three strong pointed teeth at the end ; thorax nar- 

 row; abdominal pedicle raised, pointed and conic; abdomen 

 long, oval; head, thorax and legs rufous; abdomen dark 

 brown. 



I obtained this ant under stones in a jungle in the Salem 

 district, and know nothing of its habits. 



I have since obtained one individual also in the Wynaad, 

 which may be the warrior of this species, if the society consist of 

 different individuals. It is l^^ths of an inch long, and appears 

 only to differ, besides its larger size, in having the eyes smaller 

 and more advanced, the teeth of the jaw blunt, and the thorax 

 finely striated. 



Harpegnathos*, Jerdon, new genus (p. 116). 



Gen. Char. Jaws scythe-shaped, pointed, and finely serrated ; 

 head oblong, notched behind ; eyes very large, situated at the 

 anterior extremity of the head; antennae rising between the 

 eyes ; abdominal pedicle slightly raised. 



I cannot class this remarkable ant as an Odontomachus, and 

 have therefore been compelled to institute a new genus for its 

 reception ; some of the characters given may not be generic, but, 

 till other species are discovered, it is difficult to say which are, 

 and which are not, of generic value. 



25. Harpegnathos saltator, Jerdon (p. 117). 



Worker, head long, granulated ; jaws with a strong tooth near 

 the base pointing downwards and inwards, and thence gradually 



* This name is too like Harpognathus of Wesmael, who used it for a 

 genus of Staphylinidce in 1834. — F. M. 



