18 Claude Fuller 



(p. 609, 1 758) for three insects, one termite, and two psocids. 

 The latter have been removed. The one termite was T. fatale 

 of India ; this then is the type of the genus. Several have credited 

 the genus to Hagen, and Holmgren puts Smeathman as authority 

 for the genus, and several have considered T. bellicosus as type.'* 

 The Linnean type, as types go, is unquestionably T. fatale Liim. 

 (1758) since this name is accompanied by both a description 

 and a figure in the Systema Naturae. But Termes fatale can 

 only be regarded as a legendary species seeing that it seems to 

 have been based upon an account and drav^ngs supplied to Lin- 

 neus by Rolander of a termite seen by that traveller in Surinam, 

 not India. On these grounds, coupled with the practical impossi- 

 bility of connecting fatale with a South American termite, Hagen 

 (1858) recomm.ended the suppression of fatale; from then onward 

 it has been treated as a nom. negl. The Indian insect is T. fatalis 

 Koenig (1779) doubtless so named because Koenig, when 

 describing it, thought he was dealing with the Linnean species. 

 There is no evidence to show that Linneus ever saw this insect of 

 Koenig, but we have Sparrman's word (1783) that Termes 

 capensis De Geer (1 778) was both seen and recognised as a ter- 

 mite by Linneus. T. capensis should therefore be regarded as 

 the type or leucotype of the genus. Whilst Odontotermes sensu 

 Holmgren falls away, it may be employed for a subgeneric section 

 of Termes, covering species of the monodon-had'ms-transvaalensis 

 group. 



Microtermes is a genus to which, subsequently, Ancistrotermes 

 will be found attached as a subgenus. Ancistrotermes was erected 

 by Silvestri as an independent genus and subsequently Holmgren 

 (1912) reduced it to a synonym of Microtermes. Silvestri has 

 objected very strongly to this and maintains the separateness of 

 his genus. Certainly Ancistrotermes is sufficiently distinct from 

 Microtermes to hold subgeneric rank, but, biologically, it is too 

 closely allied to be treated as an independent genus. 



Nasutitermes is the group name for a series of genera or sub- 

 genera that were placed by Holmgren (1912) in his Eutermes 

 sens. lat. Banks (1920) substituted Nasutitermes for Holm- 



