1959 ] 
Brown — Ant genus Strumigenys 
41 
Worker: TL 1. 7-2.1, HL 0.40-0.49, ML 0.24-0.32, WL 0.40- 
0.50 mm. Cl 79-86, MI 59-66. 
This variable species is small and rather slender, with convex head 
and alitrunk, the latter with a weak but readily discernible metanotal 
groove and acute, oblique propodeal teeth with concave, cariniform 
infradental lamellae. Mandibles straight, inner borders straight to 
weakly convex, with 4-9 preapical denticles along the apical half or 
more, which are very variable in size, shape and spacing in different 
samples, and are often very difficult to see except in dark silhouette 
against a bright background. The three most distal teeth are often 
larger than the rest, but sometimes all of them are extremely small. 
The dorsal tooth of the apical fork is short, but is longer than its 
ventral mate; between them are two minute intercalary denticles. 
Petiole and postpetiole shown in Figure 5 ; note the small but still 
distinct spongiform appendages. 
Body generally densely reticulate-punctulate, opaque, although in 
some examples the lower posterior sides of the alitrunk may have 
the sculpture partly effaced and shining. Gaster smooth and shining 
when clean, with distinct spaced longitudinal carinae taking up about 
the basal quarter or so of the first segment. Sometimes faint traces 
of shagreened sculpture also occur on the basal half of the gastric 
tergum, and some specimens are fouled with dirt or hardened secre- 
tion, so that it becomes difficult to tell them from eggersi workers 
in this respect. 
Ground pilosity of head and promesonotum consisting of slender, 
curved, decumbent, linear-spatulate hairs, numerous on head but 
sparse on promesonotum. Fringing hairs of head shown in Figure 1. 
Mandibles with fine subappressed pointed hairs, and a row of short 
oblique pointed hairs along each inner mandibular border. Longer 
erect hairs are mostly slender, truncate to feebly remiform or clavate : 
one pair on vertex, one pair on occiput, one or two pairs on petiolar 
node, two or three pairs on postpetiole, and 30-45 hairs on gastric 
dorsum, arranged more or less in transverse rows. In addition, there 
are bilaterally paired erect hairs which may be either long and flagel- 
liform or short and paddle-shaped (remiform). Apparently, remiform 
hairs are readily transformed into fiagelliform ones by the detachment 
of the rim of the hair at one side, so that the hair frays out to a long, 
slender point. Fiagelliform hairs are often seen reflexed or looped, 
like a furled coachwhip, and it is difficult to distinguish such hairs 
from the remiform ones. One of these hairs is to be found on each 
lateral occipital convexity (Figure 1), and there is a pair on the 
