A Monograph of the Formicidae of South Africa. 71 



rounded above, slightly convex anteriorly, and steeply sloping pos- 

 teriorly. The ventral lamella prolonged into a large triangular tooth, 

 pointing backwards. 



Anterior portion of 1st abdominal segment flattened and sloping 

 inwards. Abdomen more oblong and parallel-sided than in E. fossi- 

 gera ; 1st and 2nd segments of about equal length, and very little 

 wider than long, the constriction between them feeble. 



? (hitherto undescribed). 5*5-6 mm. Like the # , differing 

 only in the following cbaracters. 



The colour is darker. The eyes are larger, and separated from 

 the base of the mandibles by a little less than their own length. 

 The ocelli are small. Pronotum, seen from above, half as long as 

 the mesonotum. Pro-mesonotal suture distinct. The mesonotum 

 is separated from the scutellum by a deep and wide groove. Dorsum 

 of epinotum very short or almost obsolete. The epinotum is not 

 compressed laterally as in the £ , but is rather broad, with the sides 

 slightly convex. 



This species is not uncommon near Bulawayo. The nest is always 

 placed under stones or logs, and seldom contains more than half 

 a dozen workers. The latter avoid the light and are never seen at 

 work in the open. (S.A.M., E.M., G.A. colls.) 



Var. eedbankensis, Forel. 



Loc. cit., p. 109, $ . 



A little smaller than the type, the head a little broader, and the 

 puncturation a little less dense. (G.A. coll.) 



E. (Mesoponera) fossigera, Mayr. (Plate II., fig. 20.) 

 Ann. K.K. Nat. Mus. Wien, vol. 16, p. 3, £ , 1901. 

 £ . 5 mm. Black and moderately shining, thorax a little brighter. 

 Mandibles, antennae, and legs ferruginous brown, 3rd and 4th abdo- 

 minal segments yellowish brown, 5th segment dirty yellow. The 

 whole body is covered with a fine, grey pubesence, and with some 

 scattered longer hairs on the head and apical portion of the abdomen. 

 Closely and very finely punctured all over. Clypeus raised towards 

 the middle but not carinate, with a longitudinal median and shining 

 line, and the anterior margin acuminate in the centre. Mandibles 

 elongately triangular, covered with a moderate, yellow pilosity and 

 furnished with rather small teeth ; near the basal margin, externally, 

 lies a small and shallow fovea. Frontal carinae narrowed in the 

 middle of their length and divergent posteriorly. Eyes situated far 



