424 Annals of the South African Museum. 



megacejohala, but by general consent it is now accorded specific rank. 

 It is nevertheless closely allied to that species, which is a tropico- 

 politan form having a very wide distribution. Like it, punctulata i. sp. 

 or its geographical varieties is widely distributed throughout South 

 and Central Africa, and in Rhodesia and Natal is one of the commonest 

 and most abundant of ants. Like megacephala it is very partial to 

 sugar and other provisions and is therefore a frequent pest in houses. 

 It nests in the ground, and often under the shelter of stones and decayed 

 logs, also occasionally in hollow trunks of trees. "Usually many fertile 

 queens are found in each nest. In the nest of var. atrox, Forel, I have 

 found on different occasions the following species of Paussidae : 

 Gurtisi, cultratus, cucullatus and Klugi, also a Cossyphodes and a 

 Pselaphid as yet undescribed. 



As might be expected in a species with such a wide distribution, 

 punctulata is very variable in some minor details of its structure, such 

 as the sculpture, the size and shape of the epinotal teeth, etc., but for 

 each particular character intermediate forms can be found connecting 

 one extreme with the other, even in a series collected over a very small 

 area. For these reasons, the erection of new varieties and races should 

 be undertaken only with the greatest circumspection, and it is probable 

 that with a more thorough knowledge of the range of variation, many 

 of the existing varieties and races will have to be revised or deleted. 

 In addition, the relationship of this species to P. rotundata, tenuinodis 

 and victoris appears to me to be a very close one. 



Var. atrox, Forel. 

 (As race) Eev. Zool. Afric, vol. 2, p. 328, £ , 1/ , ? , 1913. 



1/ . 4 mm. Head and pro-mesonotum dark brown, the front of 

 the head a little lighter and redder. Nodes and abdomen brown, the 

 latter paler over the first segment. Head a little longer relative to its 

 width than in the type-species and more shallowly emarginate behind. 

 The scape is a trifle longer and the abdomen is more elongate. The 

 second node is also narrower, being hardly wider than long. Other- 

 wise like the type-species. 



$ . 2-2 mm. Piceous, the posterior half of the thorax paler, legs, 

 antennae and mandibles more or less yellowish-brown or brownish- 

 yellow. Head slightly narrower than in the type-species, and the 

 second node narrower. Otherwise similar. 



9 • 6 5-7 mm. Body much darker than in the type-species, almost 

 entirely brownish-black. The epinotal teeth are slightly larger and 

 longer, and the dorsal edge of the first node is more deeply emarginate. 



