i6o 



W. A. SANDS 

 Soldiers 



- Vestigial mandibles with points ........ giffardii (p. 161) 



- Vestigial mandibles without points ......... 2 



2 Head capsule in plan view top-shaped, sides tapering more or less straight towards 



front ............ sorex (p. 163) 



- Head capsule in plan view tear-drop-shaped, sides with concave curved taper towards 



front ........... edentatus (p. 160) 



Mimeutermes edentatus Sands 

 (Text-figs. 445-447. 453, 454, 461, 47°-473, 49 1 I Ma P 32) 



Mimeutermes edentatus Sands, 



Ghana, Accra. 



1956 : 83. Type locality 



Imago. Previously undescribed. Head capsule dark sepia brown, postclypeus sepia brown, 

 antennae and labrum yellow-brown. Pronotum, meso- and metanota sepia brown, pronotum 

 with distinct large pale T-shaped mark in middle of anterior half, other thoracic sclerites brown, 

 legs yellow-brown. Abdominal tergites sepia-brown, sternites brown, paler in mid-line. Wing 

 membrane translucent pale brown, venation sepia brown, distinct. 



Posterior margin of head capsule behind eyes widely rounded, slightly curved outwards at 

 eye rim ; fontanelle a pale tapering slit ; eyes very slightly set out from sides of head, angularly 

 short oval, moderately prominent in proportion to own diameter, and small to medium-sized 

 relative to head width, W/E index 3-1-3-6 ; ocelli medium-sized, separated from eyes by half 

 to four-fifths own least diameter ; anterior margin of postclypeus sinuate, convex in middle, 

 posterior convex, rounded, width 1 -8-1-9 times length ; antennae 15 segmented, IV and V 

 nearly equal, II shorter and narrower, III much smaller. Pronotum very large, shield-like, 

 wider than head across eyes. 



Pilosity of vertex brown, very dense, short and even, forming a " pelt " or " mat ", with a 

 few longer emergent setae more or less symmetrically placed in pairs or groups, sometimes one 

 very prominent seta between eye, ocellus and antennal socket on each side ; pronotum similar. 

 Abdominal pilosity, tergites as pronotum, with few longer setae on posterior margins of last 6, 

 more scattered and numerous on last 3 ; sternites with more longer setae, especially on posterior 

 margins and last 4-5 segments. 



Measurements (10 specimens from 1 locality) in millimetres. 



Range 

 Head width across eyes 108-1-12 



Greatest diameter of eye 0-30-0-35 



Ocellus . . . 010-0-12 x 0-13-015 







•06- 







08 



I 



•25- 



-I 



35 



I 



•04- 



-I 



15 



1 



•00- 



-I 



06 







•60- 



-II 30 



Ocellus to eye 

 Width of pronotum 

 Length of pronotum 

 Length of hind tibia 

 Length of fore wing 



Morphotype $ imago. Nigeria 

 Road, 5.iii.io,57 (W. A. Sands Coll. No. S.1256). In British Museum (Natural 

 History) . 



Soldier. The additional material has increased the known range of variation in size. 

 Measurements (15 specimens from 3 localities) in millimetres. 



Northern Region, 25m 



014 



Mean 

 110 



o-33 

 on x 

 0-07 

 1-32 

 110 

 1 04 

 1087 



from Jos on Kaduna 



