ETHIOPIAN NASUTITERMITINAE 7 



METHODS 



Nearly two-thirds of the specific names in existence have been found to be 

 synonyms. Most of the descriptions of species published hitherto are based on 

 characters now found to be of little taxonomic usefulness, and omit many which I 

 have found of most value. In relatively few cases are they adequately illustrated. 

 It has therefore been considered desirable to redescribe the majority of the species, 

 and to provide a full set of figures to aid identification. All species originally 

 described in languages other than English are redescribed, together with others in 

 publications that are rare and likely to be inaccessible. Only in the case of fully and 

 recently described species is redescription omitted from this revision, and in some of 

 these, additional or modified characters are given for use in conjunction with the 

 original descriptions. 



It should be noted that the degree of detail given in the descriptions which follow 

 varies from genus to genus. This is intentional, because the characters used vary 

 in number and importance ; to standardize descriptions on the most detailed pattern 

 throughout would be wasteful of space. The layout is however standardized for 

 easier comparison. 



Characters used for the first time or found of greater importance than hitherto 

 recognized are as follows: — 



Imago : pilosity of head capsule 



proportions of female cerci 



form of molar area of mandibles 



size of ventral scent gland on 5th abdominal sternite of $ 



Soldier : distribution of head and other setae 



The proportions of the $ cerci and scent glands are used, but in thecJ, these features 

 are less diagnostic since all male cerci are slightly longer and all <$ scent glands 

 distinctly smaller than the $. Marginal indentations of thoracic nota have not in 

 general been found of value, nor has imago wing venation. In several genera a very 

 wide range of variation has been encountered in all characters, both of measurement 

 and shape. In others, the degree of variation has been found to be limited in spite 

 of the availability of ample material. Each case of generic or specific status or 

 synonymy has therefore had to be judged on its own merits, and not by the standards 

 of even closely related taxa. These apparent inconsistencies of treatment are further 

 discussed in the section of phylogeny, and under generic and specific headings in 

 the text. 



All figures have been drawn with the aid of a camera lucida, from ethanol preserved 

 specimens immersed in ethanol. Only three scales are used, each of the two larger 

 being twice the next smaller. All the illustrations of the entire head capsule of 

 species on the " Procornitermes branch " are on the smallest scale, and all other 

 figures are on the middle scale apart from the imago mandibles of species on the 

 " Paracornitermes branch " and all the imago fontanelles, which are on the largest 

 scale. Measurements are largely self-explanatory, but it should be noted that in the 

 imago, head width is measured from the extremes of curvature of the eyes as seen in 



