I. — ZOOLOGY. 



[CONTINUED.] 



Akt. LXXII. — On a New Species of Ant from New 



Zealand. 



By Prof. C. Emery, University of Bologna '(Italy). 

 Communicated by W. W. Smith. 



[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 20th February, 



1895.2 



The Formicidae of New Zealand are of high zoological in- 

 terest. We may regard the actual fauna as a relic from an 

 old Australian fauna that remained there unmixed and safe 

 from Indian immigrations which took place on the Australian 

 continent, but was badly disseminated by partial submersions 

 and by the rigorous climate of the glacial epoch. Evidence 

 of the great influence of the Ice Age may be assumed from the 

 fact that the most characteristic Formicidae of New Zealand 

 (and, as Mr. W. W. Smith informs me, the termites) are 

 found only on the North Island; very few species of ants 

 are found living on the South Island, and none peculiar to 

 it. I therefore think that the glacial climate destroyed all 

 the ants and termites on the South Island. Later a few of 

 the most diffusible species (Monomorium, Huberia, Lasius) 

 wandered across the sea towards the south. 



In 1892 my friend Professor Forel published" a list of the 

 New Zealand Formicidte, and described some new species. 

 Since that year a few more have been discovered. Professor 

 Forel has lately described Honomormm integrum; while two 

 other species, a Ponera and a Huberia, will shortly be desribed 

 by him. 



The only known ant from New Zealand not seen by Forel 

 was Orectognathus perplexas, Sm. I suspected it to be identi- 

 cal with Strumigenys antarctica, Forel, and that Smith 

 had wrongly counted the number of joints of the antennae. 

 Mr. W. F. Kirby did me the kindness to examine the type 

 in the collection of the British Museum, and found that the 

 antennae are 6- jointed. The insect belongs therefore to the 



* "Die Ameisen Neu-Seelands," in Mitth. Schweiz. en torn. Ges., Bd. 8. 



