. The Termites of South Africa 1 1 7 



Genus CoARCTATOTERMES Holmgren (1912). 



This genus was erected by Holmgren as a sub-genus for 

 nasuti with dumb-bell shaped heads, or, as Sjostedt more ex- 

 pressively puts it, with heads like a bird's skull, and thick cone- 

 shaped noses; the clypeus of the worker not being quite as long 

 as half its width. Three species were accorded to the sub-genus, 

 two African and one from Madagascar. The African species 

 were coarctatus and hipartitus, since then a fourth species, also 

 African, has been described by Sjostedt, this is known as 

 coniracivs. The winged imagos are, I believe, here described 

 for the first time and without doubt their characters are sufficient 

 to give Coarctatotermes generic rank. Although I do not know 

 coarctatus for the part of South Africa to which this paper is 

 devoted, I have considered it desirable to include a description 

 of the imago. 



Coarctatotermes contractus Sjost. (1913). 



Imago :small, intensely black and glabrous with remarkably 

 short wings. Head quite black; clypeus black-brown not con- 

 trasting with rest of head; joints I. and II. of the antennae 

 pale red-brown, the rest black with white rings. Tergites of 

 thorax and abdomen black. Legs black except for the extreme 

 tips of femora, the ends of the tibise and the whole of 

 the tarsi which are yellow. Sternites of abdomen black except 

 for a white median line broadening out on the anterior three. 

 Conjunctiva pure white. 



Head : connecting the ocelli a fairly distinct ridge interrupted 

 in the middle at the fontanelle, behind this the vertex is plainly 

 depressed ; fontanelle minute but discernible and furcate. Cly- 

 peus: inflated, narrow and short (9 X 4) front margin faintly 

 incurvate, hind margin flatly curvate. Eyes : black, oval. Ocelli : 

 minute ; sordid ; deeply inset and three times their short diameter 

 from eyes. 



Antennae: XIV. jointed, joint III. large, twice as long as II., 

 and longer than IV. ; always with a decided pseudo-articula- 

 tion indicating a XV. expression in which joint III. would be 

 minute and shorter than both II. and IV. 



Pronotum: elongate semicircular, sides somewhat at right 

 angles to front margin, not tapering, hind margin roundly cur- 

 vate; longer than half its width (20 x 14). Meso- and metano- 

 tum- with angularly emarginate hind margins, that of the- 

 metanotum perhaps a little wider than the mesonotum; pro-^ 

 cesses more or less triangular. 



Wings: short, brownish, hyaline, when dry somewhat iride- 

 scent; €. and II. brown, more deeply coloured in basal half; 

 with no streak below R. ; M. and Cu. faint; M. runs close to and 



