250 
Psyche 
[December 
showed in 1954 that it is a tramp belonging to a characteristically 
African species-group, and itself probably West African in origin. 
Distribution: Widespread in the West Indies, from Cuba to Trini- 
dad; British Guiana; West Africa; Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, Micronesia; 
greenhouses in England and Scotland; apparently spreading rapidly 
through commerce. 
Synonyms : S. incisa Godfrey, S. sulfurea Santschi. 
Phylogeny of the New World Strumigenys 
I belong to the school that believes that since Darwin phylogenetic 
reasoning is inseparably a part of the taxonomic ordering of any group. 
The work of the more outspoken “aphyletic taxonomists” shows that 
they have not escaped the influence of evolutionary thinking, either, 
when it comes to revising a species-group or genus or family. Phylo- 
genetic thinking is usually more or less implicit in the grouping of 
species, as I have grouped the New World species (above). In Figure 
30 I have shown my best guess as to how the species groups are related 
one to the others. This diagram should not be taken too seriously, 
because Strumigenys species are very likely to be convergent from 
different groups, and the convergence may be very close and may 
involve several to many characters. 
The most serious problem in Strumigenys is the question of direction 
of evolution ; in other words, which species or groups are primitive, and 
which derived? One can look to the other two faunas of the genus 
(Ethiopian-Malagasy and Indo-Australian) , but these give little help 
at present. I used to think, for no very good reason, I suppose, that 
certain species with large, ruggedly modelled heads and heavy, more or 
less closely approximate mandibles \chyzeri group of Melanesia, 
Explanation of Plate 18 
Figures 9-29. Strumigenys spp., workers. Figures 9-12 and 14-16 show left 
mandibles in dorsal view; Figure 13 is a dorsal enlarged view of the apices 
of both mandibles. Figure 9, S. cultriger. Figure 10, S. eggersi. Figure 11, S. 
connectens, paratype. Figure 12, S. boneti, paratype. Figure 13, S. sp. near 
micretes from Boquete, Panama — one of several variants from this locality. 
Figure 14, S. trinidadensis. Figure 15, S. mixta, paratype. Figure 16, S. rogeri. 
Figures 17-21 are end-on views of the apical fork of the mandibles, much 
enlarged. Figure 17, S. rogeri. Figure 18, S. silvestrii. Figure 19, S. micretes, 
paratype. Figure 20, S. eggersi. Figure 21, S. mixta, paratype. Figures 22-28, 
lateral view of propodeal lamella. Figure 22, S. hemidisca, holotype. Figure 
23, S. trinidadensis, paratype. Figure 24, S. sanctipauli, holotype after Kempf. 
Figure 25, S. cordovensis. Figures 26, 27, same, showing extremes of variation 
in different individuals; the pattern of Figure 27 is common in southern 
Mexico. Figure 28, S. biolleyi. Figure 29, S. rogeri, left side of head near eye 
as seen from dorsal full-face view, to show “detached” eye. 
