86 
AUSTRALIAN SPECIES OF RHYTIDOPONERA MAYR 
and gaster deep but not wide. First segment of gaster fully one-fifth broader 
than long, strongly convex behind. Legs slender. 
Male. — Unknown. 
Habitat. — North Queensland: Townsville (F. P. Dodd). 
RTiytidoponera convexa Mayr s.sp. opaciot' Crawley. 
(PI. VI, fig. 64.) 
Rhytidoponera convexa Mayr s.sp. violacea Forel var. opacior Crawley, 
Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 9, xvi, p. 583, 1925, ^ . 
Worker. — Length, 6-7 mm. 
Blackish-brown, almost black, gaster with dull metallic violet or blue 
sheen; apical segments of funiculi and the tarsi brown. 
Mandibles and scapes very finely striate longitudinally. Head coarsely 
punctate-rugose, the punctures large and shallow, shining at bottom, the 
rugae somewhat longitudinal in the middle, diverging outward behind. Pro- 
notum finely and circularly striate-rugose, with large, rather shallow, scat- 
tered punctures, shining at bottom. Mesonotum and epinotum transversely 
striate, more coarsely striate on declivity, with large, shallow, scattered punc- 
tures shining at bottom. Node feebly striate on top, shining, transversely 
striate on anterior face. Postpetiole and first segment of gaster very finely 
and densely striate, transversely arched in front, almost circularly arched 
behind. Legs very finely reticulate. 
Hair yellow, erect and long on clypeus and apex of gaster, short and 
sparse on rest of body; moderately long, suberect and abundant on scapes 
and legs. 
Head one-fifth longer than broad, sides and occipital border straight or 
feebly convex, angles broadly rounded, occipital crest small but sharp. Mand- 
ibles strongly dentate. Clypeus strongly convex above and in front, bluntly 
pointed. Frontal area triangular, shallow. Frontal ridges slightly longer 
than broad in front. Scapes extend beyond occipital border by fully one- 
third their length. Second and third segments of funiculus equal in length, 
very slightly longer than first, apical barely as long as the two preceding 
together. Eyes placed at posterior third of sides. Thorax barely twice as 
long as broad, pro-mesonotal suture sharply impressed. Pronotum one- 
fourth broader than long, front, sides and dorsum convex. Mesonotum and 
epinotum strongly convex transversely. In profile pronotum strongly convex 
and dropping abruptly in front. Mesonotum more flatly convex. Pro- 
mesonotal suture rather deeply impressed. Epinotum much lower than 
mesonotum, short, half as long as declivity face, the latter straight, at an 
obtuse angle. Node two and one-half times broader than long, strongly 
convex in all directions. In profile three times higher than long, much 
broader at base than on top, anterior face straight, sloping forward below, 
posterior face straight, sloping backward below, dorsum short and convex; 
the ventral spine thorn-like, short, thick and sharp. Postpetiole fully one- 
fifth broader than long, broadly convex in front. First segment of gaster 
one-fourth broader than long, strongly convex behind. The constriction 
between the two segments sharp and deep. Legs long and robust. 
Male. — Unknown. 
Habitat. — Western Australia: Jigalong (type locality) (J. Hickmer). 
