MANN: ANTS OF THE FIJI ISLANDS. 465 



Opaque, except gaster which is shining. Mandibles somewhat shining, 

 sl'allowly punctate. Head, thorax, epinotum, petiole, postpetiole, and legs 

 very densely punctate. Gaster striate basally. 



Stiff erect hairs very sparse on head and body, and short curved hairs 

 sparsely distributed on head, more abundant on appendages. Spongiform 

 appendages fine on ventral surface and posterior border of petiole, stronger on 

 postpetiole. 



Dark brown. Mandibles, funiculi, and tarsi lighter. 



Female. Length 5 mm. 



Very similar to the worker, except in thoracic structure and in the stouter 

 epinotal spines. The wings are clear, with fuscous veins and stigma. 



31alc. Length 3.90 mm. 



Head, excluding eyes, much longer than broad, sides posterior to eyes 

 slightly convex, posterior corners very narrowly rounded, border deeply ex- 

 cised. Mandibles well developed, acute, their blades at middle with a broad, 

 triangular tooth. Clypeus at middle elevated into a broad carina, anterior 

 border feebly concave. Eyes convex, about one third as long as head, situated 

 at a distance from base of mandibles a little less than their longitudinal diame- 

 ter. Antennae 13-jointed, scape shorter than eye, first funicular joint more 

 than half as long as scape, remaining joints elongate, cylindrical and subequal, 

 except the terminal which is one and one half times as long as the penultimate. 

 Thorax robust. Parapsidal furrows strong. Epinotum with flattened base 

 and declivity, concave between the spines which are reduced to blunt tubercles. 

 Petiole slender, the node longer than broad and rounded above. Postpetiole 

 slightly longer than broad, a little broader than the petiole. Gaster long and 

 narrowed apically, genitalia prominent. 



Head, thorax, petiole, and postpetiole densely punctate and opaque. Gaster 

 shining, with short striae at base of apical segment. Wings densely hairy. 



Dark brown. 



Viti Levu: Nadarivatu (Type-locahty), Waiyanitu, Vesari. Ka- 

 davu: Buke Levu. 



Belongs in a group with loriae Emery and chyzeri Emery from New 

 Guinea, resembhng the latter in having the basal mandibular spine 

 situated dorsally; S. 7iidifex differs from chyzeri in being much larger, 

 the basal mandibular tooth is long and slender, similar to the terminal 

 teeth; the thorax and petiole entirely different. • 



It is rather a common ant in certain localities, but the colonies are 

 difficult to locate. The favorite nesting site is between two layers of 

 stone, though nests were found also beneath stones and, more rarely^ 

 in rotten logs. The colonies sometimes contain upward of a hundred 



