234 Mr. W. C. Crawley on Ants from 



III. Subfam. AItbmicin^. 

 No. 31. Pheidole platypus^ sp. n. 



11 . — L. 6'5-7-5 mm. 



Mandibles veiy thick, coarsely striate, terminal border 

 irregularly dentate when not worn to an irregular edge, no 

 prominent teeth at apex. Clypeus emarginate in front, 

 coarsely striate ; frontal area small, deep, triangular. Head 

 much longer than broad, with subparallel sides, emargination 

 at back deep, wide, and triangular. Frontal carin^e half as 

 long as the sciipe, which only reaches one-third of the distance 

 from its base to tlie occiput. Eyes placed at the commence- 

 ment of the anterior quarter of sides of head. There is a 

 deep impression from the emargination of the occiput to 

 the vertex. Tarsi of first pair of legs broad and flat. Pro- 

 niesonotum very high and rounded, pronotal protuberances 

 !«haip, terminated by small teeth or spines. Basal and 

 declivous surfaces of epinotum of equal length, the spines 

 short and narrow, half as long as the basal surface. First 

 node nairow at top, widely emarginate, second node wider 

 than long, without lateral angles. Gaster (when not dis- 

 tended) siMull and oval. 



Whole of upper side of head coarsely striate longitudinally, 

 the strise curve outwards round the occiput and return as 

 much finer lines down the sides and under surface of the head. 

 The stria3 are coarsest on the occipital lobes, where they have 

 a downward and outward diagonal direction. Pronotum 

 with fine irregular longitudinal ridges, the lateral ones bow- 

 sliaped (in some examples the ridges starting from the neck 

 all curve in one direction and are terminated at the lateral 

 tooth), finely reticulate between the ridges. Mesonotum 

 with curved transverse ridges, the convexity of the curves 

 towards the posterior border; occasionally the central ridges 

 have a circular tendency ; there is a faint reticulation between 

 the ridges. Epinotum finely reticulate and longitudinally 

 striate, the strise not descending below the interval between 

 the spines; from the base of the latter coarse striae diverge 

 outwards and up the sides. Nodes of pedicel finely reticulate, 

 the second with a few longitudinal strise. First segment 

 of gaster fuiully reticulate and with irregular longitudinal 

 sculpture. 



There is a yellow pilosity over the whole body ; scapes 

 and tibise with abundant hairs. 



Dark red-brown ; mandibles almost black, gaster brown. 



^ .— L. 2-2-5 mm. 



Mandibles striate, with a few punctures near the terminal 



