AUSTRALIAN SPECIES OF RHYIIDOPONERA MAYR 
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larly rugose, epinotum almost transversely rugose. Node finely rugose trans- 
versely. Gaster very finely and densely reticulate. 
Hair reddish-yellow, short, erect and abundant throughout. 
Head strongly convex behind eyes, strongly but narrowly indented in 
middle. Mandibles with numerous small sharp teeth. Clypeus broadly 
convex in front and above. Frontal area large and shallow. Frontal carinae 
not as long as broad in front. Scapes barely as long as second segment of 
funiculus, the latter fully four times longer than first segment, apical barely 
one-fourth longer than preceding segment. Eyes occupy one-third of sides, 
placed at middle. Ocelli prominent. Thorax fully twice as long as broad. 
Pronotum projecting slightly beyond mesonotum, front and sides strongly 
convex. Mesonotum as long as broad, broadly convex in front, mayrian 
furrows feebly impressed, parapsidal furrows sharply impressed, central fur- 
row deeply impressed from apex to base. Scutelluni one-third broader than 
long, straight in front, strongly convex behind and on sides, a deep, longi- 
tudinal groove on top. Epinotum feebly convex transversely. In profile 
pronotum erect feebly convex. Mesonotum strongly convex from apex to 
base. Scutellum dome-shaped, longer than high. Metanotum convex in front, 
concave behind, higher than long. Epinotum strongly convex from base 
to apex. Node broadest behind, sides concave. In profile almost parallel, 
convex behind, ventral spine long and sharp. Postpetiole almost one-third 
broader than long, cone-shaped, constriction deep and wide. First segment 
of gaster one-third broader than long, broadest behind, sides convex. Genitalia 
retracted. Legs long and slender. 
Habitat . — New South Wales: Twenty miles north of Bourke (A. H. 
Wetherly, 1935). 
Type in collection. Department of Entomology, C.S.I.R., Canberra. 
Described from eighteen workers and two males. 
Near R. mayri Emery but readily separated by the shape of 
the head and node, also by the sculpture. 
Rhytidoponera occidentalis sp. nov. 
(Text fig. 2.) 
Worker. — Length, 1L5-12 mm. 
Head, thorax and node black. Mandibles, antennae, legs and gaster 
blackish-brown; apex of mandibles and funiculi reddish. 
Mandibles finely striate longitudinally. Scapes and frontal carinae and 
tibiae very finely and densely striate longitudinally. Clypeus strongly striate- 
rugose longitudinally. Head, thorax and node coarsely and irregularly rugose, 
with a transverse direction on front of pronotum and on epinotum, the 
rugae densely reticulate at bottom. Postpetiole and gaster finely, densely 
and transversely striate. 
Hair yellow, long, slender and erect on front of clypeus, shorter and more 
numerous at apex of gaster. Sparse, very short and adpressed on body, 
scapes and legs. 
Head one-fifth longer than broad, broadest in front, sides very feebly 
convex, almost straight, occipital border slightly concave, angles sharply 
rounded, projecting slightly forward and very feebly outward at sides, crest 
sharp and strong at angles, obsolete in middle. Mandibles crenulate, teeth not 
defined. Clypeus broadly convex in front and above. Frontal area shallow. 
