1985] 
Wilson — Dominican amber ants. 3 
19 
ginate mesonotum. Moreover, all recognized Monads are Neotrop- 
ical. Living members of the genus are almost wholly limited to the 
mainland from southern South America to southern Mexico, and 
all evidently nest arboreally. M. bispinosa, the most widespread 
species, also occurs on Trinidad and has been recorded, quite 
anomalously, from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands (Mayr, 1862). 
The latter record was based on a single queen and is almost certainly 
an error — or at most represents a population introduced by human 
commerce. No other Monads has been found in the remainder of 
the West Indies north of Trinidad, despite the fact that the workers 
of most of the species, including M. bispinosa, are large, conspicuous 
insects. 
The two species described below from the Dominican amber are 
typical Monads not much different from two species ( rufescens and 
laminatus respectively) in the living fauna. They are of exceptional 
significance because of the current absence of the genus from the 
Greater Antilles. 
Monads earibbaea, new species 
(Fig. 2) 
Diagnosis {worker). A relatively small (Pronotal Width includ- 
ing humeral spines 0.49-0.66 mm), slender species resembling the 
modern M. rufescens of the Brazilian Amazon, differing from rufes- 
cens in its very sparse body pilosity and the more sharply angulate 
“shelf” separating the dorsal and declivitous (posterior) faces of the 
propodeum. M. earibbaea is also light reddish brown as opposed to 
light reddish yellow in rufescens, although its color might well have 
been altered during fossilization. 
Holotype worker. Head Width 0.80 mm, Pronotal Width 0.51 
mm. Alitrunk and petiole densely, finely, and evenly punctate, 
opaque; head still more finely punctate, grading to shagreened, and 
feebly shining. Body almost devoid of standing pilosity. Body 
mostly dark reddish brown, legs and parts of petiole and gaster light 
reddish brown. 
Paratype workers. Eleven specimens in as many amber pieces: 2 
from Palo Quemado (Pronotal Width of first 0.47 mm, second not 
measured), one from Bayaguana (no measurement), and 8 with no 
further locality within the Dominican Republic (Pronotal Width 
0.49-0.66 mm). 
