AKT. 14 TEEMITES FROM AMAZON BASIN SNYDER 13 



RHINOTERMES TAURUS Desneux = 



Asunto, Bolivia, August, 1921 (major and minor soldiers and 

 workers) ; Huaclii, Bolivia, August-September, 1921 (major and 

 minor soldiers and workers) ; Rurrenabaque, Bolivia, October, 1921 

 (also November, 1921, M. R. Lopez), (major and minor soldiers 

 and M'orkers) ; Cacliuela Esperanza (Beni River), Bolivia, March, 

 1922 (major and minor soldiers and workers; Blanca Flor Beni, 

 Bolivia, January, 1922 (major and minor soldiers and workers) ; 

 Bon Hora, Rio Madeira, Brazil, March, 1922 (major and minor 

 soldiers and workers). 



Family TERMITIDAE 



SYNTERMES BRAZILIENSIS Holmgren 



Soldier (pi. 2, fig. 9). — Head yellow-brown (light castaneous), 

 with reddish tinge anteriorl3% shining, flatly arched, broadest near 

 base, markedl}' narrowed toward front, with few scattered, light 

 yellow, long hairs. 



Fontanelle near front of head, opening projected into a very short 

 tube (nearly flat, but little raised). 



Antenna light castaneous brown, elongate, slender, 19-20 seg- 

 ments, with long pubescence, first segment elongate, cylindrical; 

 second shorter and narrower, sub-clavate; third and fourth seg- 

 ments approximately the same size as second, or with third slightly 

 longer than fourth but shorter than second, variable; fifth slightly 

 longer than fourth; from sixth segment on segments become more 

 elongate and slender; last segment elongate, slender, sub-elliptical. 



Labrum liglit j^ellow brown, 3-lobed, central hj^aline lobe white, 

 fleshy, triangular, tip labrum with lo'hg hairs. 



Post-clypeus light yellow-brown, not raised up. 



Mandibles piceous, shining, elongate, slender, strongly incurved 

 whereas in S. inolestus Burmeister the mandibles are relatively 

 weakly curved, tips pointed, base reddish-brown, broad, Avithout 

 hairs; left mandible with 2-3 small, somewhat blunt marginal teeth 

 near base (see figure) ; right mandible with no marginal teeth. 



Gula more than half the width of the front at the middle. 



Pronotum light yellow-brown, saddle-shaped, without long spines 

 (most unusual in species of Syntermes)^ instead of the spines the 

 sides of the thoracic nota are produced to a blunt point (rudi- 

 mentary or vestigial spine?) giving a three-cornered appearance, 

 with long hairs. 



Legs yelloAv -brown, elongate, slender, pubescent. 



^ Ma jor soldiers with larger heads but with narrower labrum than R. ma^.lnuUa Lin- 

 naeus and less prominent marginal teeth. R. nasutu~s Perty replaces the species tatirua. 



