24 NEW SPECIES OF AUSTRALIAN ANTS 



Prolasius nitidissimus, Wheeler, Psyche, 42, p. 71, 1935. 

 Eedescribed from ants from Goulburn River, Vic. 



Worker : 



Length : 3 5-4mm. 



Blackish brown, some with a reddish tint; legs, antennae, mandibles slightly 

 lighter. 



Hair yellow, short, subercct apparently only on the clypens and gaster. 

 Pubescence whitish, very fine, adpressed, confined to legs and antenna?. 



Smooth and shining, antennae very finely punctate. 



Head slightly longer than broad, sides fairly convex, occipital border convex 

 corners broadly rounded. Mandibles triangular, furnished with five strong 

 sharp teeth behind the apex. Clypeus carinated. Frontal area broad, almost 

 convex behind. Frontal ca rinse parallel, barely as long as the distance between 

 them. Eyes large, placed about the middle of the sides. Ocelli small but 

 distinct. Scapes extend beyond the occipital border by half their length. First 

 segment of funiculus slightly longer than the second, the rest nearly twice as 

 long as broad, the apical segment almost as long as the two preceding taken 

 together. Pronotum slightly longer than broad, sides strongly convex. Mesono- 

 tum one third longer than broad, sides almost straight. Epinotum as long 

 as broad, sides almost convex, slightly wider behind. In profile pronotum 

 and mesonotum form an even convexity. Dorsum of epinotum convex. The 

 declivity of the epinotum straight, slightly longer than the dorsum. The. 



dorsum joins the declivity at a very noticeable angle, and seems to overhang 

 slightly the declivity. 



The node is scale-like, from above it is transverse, straight or faintly concave 

 on top. In profile it is bluntly pointed above, the anterior face slightly convex, 

 the posterior face straight. Legs slender. 



Original habitat : Australian Alps, 1896. 

 24. Prolasius nitidissimus var. formicoides, Forel. 



Melophorus formicoid.es, Forel, Rev. Suisse Zool. x, p. 483, 1902. £ $ 

 Melophorus formicoides, Emery, Genera Insect, fasc. 183, p. 12, 1925. S 9 



From Forel 's description only. 



Worker : 



Length : 3 -3-4 '2mm. 



Blackish brown; gaster brownish black. Legs, scapes, base of mandibles, and 

 sometimes also the thorax and head brown. Rest of mandibles, funiculus red- 

 dish yellow. Posterior border of the segments of the gaster a clear brown. 



Whole body chargined. Head evenly subopaque. 



Coarse brown, stiff, thick, suberect hairs on gaster. Legs and scapes without 

 hair but covered with very fine pubescence. 



Head nearly square, slightly longer than broad, with the posterior border 

 very distinct, The eyes are very much larger than in P. nitidissimus, being 

 almost as long as their distance from the occipital angle. Ocelli distinct. 

 Scapes extend beyond the occipital border by more than half their length, the 

 segments of the funiculus three times as long as broad. Clypeus subcarinate. 



The pronotum and mesonotum are more convex than iu P nitidissimus and 

 the dorsum of the epinotum larger, while the declivity is as in nitidissimus 

 The node is much higher and thinner than in P. nitidissimus. 

 Female : 



Length : 5 5mm. 



Thorax larger than the head and strongly convex. The declivity of the 

 epinotum flat and truncated. Node high, the upper border straight 



