26 



W. A. SANDS 



Nasutitermes earner unensis (Sjostedt) comb. n. 

 (Text-figs. 4, 5, and 201 ; Map 3.) 



Eutermes camevunensis Sjostedt, 1899 : 37. Type locality : Cameroun. 

 Euterm.es camevunensis Sjostedt : Snyder, 1949 : 349 [not classified]. 

 Microcerotermes (?) camevunensis (Sjostedt) Weidner, 1955 : 249. 



Head capsule chestnut brown, postclypeus, labrum, and antennae bright yellow- 

 brown, almost orange. Pronotum, meso- and metanota, and abdominal tergites brown, 

 pronotum with paler irregular " T "-shaped mark in middle of front half. Legs yellow. 

 Abdominal sternites pale yellow in middle, clouded with pale brown round stigmata. Wings, 

 membrane very pale brown, almost hyaline, slightly iridescent, veins pale brown outlined with 

 sepia brown. 



Posterior margin of head behind eyes distinctly less than semi-circular ; fontanelle small, 

 pale, but widely bifurcate anteriorly, lateral arms of " fork " reaching half-way to ocelli ; 

 eyes prominent, medium-sized, angularly oval, W/E index 2-9 ; ocelli medium-sized, oval, 

 separated from eyes by half own least diameter or slightly less ; postclypeus moderately inflated, 

 width 2-5 times length, anterior margin nearly straight, posterior margin rounded ; antennae 

 15 segmented, II and IV subequal, slightly longer than III and V. 



Cerci (both known specimens are <J) about as long as width across base, mamilliform. 



Measurements (2 specimens, holotype and one other) in millimetres. 



Range 

 Head width across eyes ... 1 34-1 -35 



Greatest diameter of eye 



Ocellus 



Ocellus to eye . 



Width of pronotum 



Length of pronotum 



Length of hind tibia 



046 

 013-014 x 016-019 



05-0 06 



1 06-1 10 

 0-64-0-69 



161 



This species is only known from the holotype imago and one other specimen. 

 The soldier and worker castes are unknown. It was first recognized as belonging 

 to Nasutitermes by Emerson, and my attention was drawn to it by his unpublished 

 notes. Since then a further specimen has been found in the collection of the Termite 

 Research Unit, confirming its existence as a separate species. It may be noted that 

 only two species from the mainland of Africa are now known only from the soldier 

 caste, namely N . diabolus and N . ferranti. Similarly only two are known from the 

 imago alone, N. camevunensis and N. chrysopleura. In view of the widespread 

 records of all the mainland species now known, it seems probable that these soldiers 

 and imagos belong together in two species, although this cannot be settled until all 

 castes are collected together. It is however possible to predict that if this is correct 

 the most likely combinations would seem to be the soldier of N. diabolus with the 

 imago N. chrysopleura and the soldier of N. ferranti with the imago N. camevunensis. 



N . camerunensis differs from N . kempae and N. elegantulus in having relatively 

 smaller eyes ; the hind tibia is proportionately longer than in N. fulleri, and the 

 widely bifurcate fontanelle distinguishes it from N. arbovum and N. infuscatus. In 

 the remaining species the postclypeus is much shorter in proportion to its width. 



Material. Cameroun : hi. 1892 (H. Bvauns), unique holotype <$ imago, Mus. 

 Hamburg. 



Nigeria : Eastern Region ; Port Harcourt, 15.iii.1957 (W. Wilkinson). 



