W. L. Brown, Jr.
The Indo-Australian Species of the Ant Genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: Three New Philippine Species.
Psyche 63(4):113-118, 1956.

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PSYCHE
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Vol. 63 December, 1956 No. 4
THE INDO-AUSTRALIAN SPECIES OF
THE ANT GENUS
STRUMIGENYS FR. SMITH:
THREE NEW PHILIPPINE SPECIES1
Museum of Comparative Z~oology, Harvard University This paper is a further contribution in a series which, when complete, will cover the Indo-Australian portion of the world fauna of the dacetine ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith. Previous parts, the first two of which include ex- planations of the abbreviations used for citing measure- ments and indices, are in Psyche 60: 85-89 (1953), 60: 160-166 (1954) and 61 : 68-73 (1954).
The last reference just cited contains the description of S. chapmani Brown, from the Philippines, a species that is very difficult to assign to any species group. There are also known from the same islands a member of the szalayi group (australis or near) ; an undescribed species, apparently nearest S. koningsbergeri Forel; a member of the "Labi- dogenys" complex, probably new, and four species of the godeffroyi group, including S. godeffroyi Mayr and the three forms described here for the first time. This makes a total of eight known Strumigenys, which is undoubtedly only a fraction of the number actually to be found in the Philippines.
So far as can be determined from the present samples, the Philippine Strumigenys fauna is Indo-Malayan in affinities, with also an element (australis) of probable Papuasian 'Published with the aid of a grant from the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College.




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114 Psyche [December
origin. As elsewhere in the East Indies, species endemism is high.
Strumigenys esrossi, new species
Holotype worker : TL 2.4, HL 0.62, ML 0.28, WL 0.60 ; CI 72, MI 45.
Head and mandibles in general form much like those of godeffrogi; the occipital lobes with a feeble indication of dorsal depression and another extremely feeble depression in the center of the cephalic dorsum at eye level. Mandibles only very feebly arcuate; dorsal tooth of apical fork nearly twice as long as the ventral; the latter parallel and with two small acute intercalary denticles on its inner margin. Pre- apical spiniform tooth distant by about 11/^ times its own length, situated at approximately the apical third of the length of the shaft, a little more than half as long as the dorsal apical tooth. Alitrunk slender, pronotum depressed, forming a nearly straight gentle slope in profile, continu- ous with the anterior mesonotum; posterior mesonotum rather strongly and broadly concave, continuous with the very feebly convex propodeal dorsum ; metanotal groove ab- sent. Propodeal teeth spiniform, but enveloped in infra- dental lamella, which is acute at their tips and broad and weakly convex below; spongiform tissue not or extremely slightly developed on the lateral faces of the lamellae. Petio- lar node long and low, gently-rounded above and with a gentle anterior slope. Spongiform tissue reduced to moder- ate posterolateral flaps and a strong rnid-ventral band. Postpetiole moderate in size, nearly twice as broad as petiolar node, convex, finely and densely striolate-punctu- late longitudinally, opaque. Anterolateral spongiform ap- pendages less well developed than in godeffroyi. Basigas- tric costulae a broad band of extremely fine, dense longi- tudinal striolation extending about half the length of the basal tergite, and behind this extending briefly as indefi- nite traces, although the surface here is generally smooth and shining. Mandibles fairly smooth, shining. Rest of body densely punctulate and opaque, including sides of alitrunk.
Pilosity consisting, except for a few short clavate hairs



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at the gastric apex, entirely of short, appressed, whitish spatulate hairs, only moderately distinct on the head, where they are largest posteriorly ; reduced, few and scarcely visible at all on alitrunk; a few, inconspicuous, on the petio- lar and postpetiolar nodes. Hairs on scape border slender spatulate, subappressed and directed toward the scape apex. Gastric dorsum with very indistinct, small, fine appressed hairs, (color sordid yellowish ferruginous ; dorsum of head feebly darkened in the middle.
Ì
Holotype [California Academy of Sciences] one of 21 workers taken at San Jose, Mindoro I., Philippine Islands, from a nest in a small cavity in the soil, 3 inches below the surface (E. S. Ross leg.).
Paratype workers: 20 workers from type nest series; numerous workers from near Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines (probably chiefly from the Cuernos Mts.) (J. W. Chapman and D. Empeso) ; one worker from MCZ miscellany. Victoria, Luzon (Pierce leg.) ; one worker from Jolo I., Philippines, from stomach of Rana microdisca legtensis in MCZ. TL 2.2-2.7, HL 0.58-0.65, ML 0.26-0.30, WL 0.58-0.68; CI 70-74, MI 45-46. The larger workers are often lighter and more yellow in color. Paratypes in GAS, USNM, MCZ.
Female, from type nest series: TL 2.8, HL 0.67, ML 0.29, WL 0.69; CI 75, MI 43. Mesonotum with a feeble median sul- cus ; pilosity as on head, except for a pair of short, tapered, erect hairs on anterior scutum. Nodes broader than in work- er; petiolar node about as broad as long. Gaster more opaque, the striolae stronger and extending nearly the whole length of the basal termite; coarser at extreme base. Anterior gastric dorsum with a widely spaced pair of very small erect clavate hairs. Medium f erruginous ; ocelli small, with blackened callus at each. Male unknown. This species is so far known only from the Philippines, where it is widespread and apparently rather common. It combines features of the godeffroyi and szalayi groups, but seems best placed with the former group. It is strongly distinct in sculpture and pilosity. Front 'S~phytibia sp. nW., another Philippine species with striaite' p'6spetiole, S. es- rossi differs in the more proximally pi'&ked preapical Mth,



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116 Psyche [Decem~er
the slightly more arcuate mandibles, different pilosity, and other details.
Strumigenys uichancoi, new species
Holotype worker : TL 2.2, HL 0.55, ML 0.26, WL 0.53 ; CI 72, MI 47. Shape of head, mandibles and antennae very much as in "'5'. frivaldszfci as figured by Emery in his original characterization of that species. The mandibles are slender, and the preapical tooth is straighter, and is placed slightly farther from the apical teeth, at or a little basad of the apical quarter of the ML. Promesonoturn weakly convex, posterior mesonotum very weakly depressed (less so than in godeffroyi) and in profile forming an uninterrupted straight or extremely feebly convex dorsal outline with the propodeum. Metanotal groove completely obsolete on the dorsum. Propodeal lamellae moderate in size, with short upper teeth, each embedded in fairly thick lamelliform an- gles, so that the upper corners of the larnellae are obtuse; below this, the lamellae gradually widen ventrad (to nearly twice the dorsal width at the position of the teeth) and are here convex. The lamellae are smaller and narrower above, and without definite development of spongiform tissue on their lateral faces, but otherwise similar to those of godef- from. Petiolar node a little longer than broad, subglobose, with moderately steeply sloping anterior face; broadly rounded above as seen from the side. Lateral spongiform lobes much narrower and less well developed than in godef- froyi, anterior nodal face not nearly so steep. Postpetiolar disc small, convex, smooth and shining.
Sculpture of alitrunk weak, entirely effaced on the sides, which are consequently smooth and shining, and almost gone on much of the pronoturn, which is moderately to fairly strongly shining. Petiole opaque. Basal gastric cos- tulae few (11-12), extending 1/5 or less the length of gastric tergite I, well separated and irregular in length. Rest of gaster smooth and shining.
Pilosity consisting of short, very fine hairs, feebly sub- spatulate and appressed or subappressed on the anterior part of the cephalic dorsum and the anterior scape borders, erect and quite abundant on the posterior half of the head,



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19561 Brown - Philippine Strzcmigenys 117 finer, erect and sparse on the alitrunk, nodes and gaster. A few hairs are slightly longer : on humeral angles, mesono- turn, and gastric dorsum, appearing flagellate, but the tips looped back on the shafts to suggest a false spatulate con- dition in the present specimen.
Holotype a unique [USNM] taken in U. S. Plant Quaran- tine (No 686, 10385) at Honolulu from a fern plant origin- ating in the Philippine Islands. Closely related to godeffroyi, but differing in smaller size, pilosity and placement of the preapical tooth, among other characters. Strumigenys phytibia, new species
Holotype worker: TL 2.5, HL 0.60, ML 0.29, WL 0.65; CI 69, MI 48. Closely resembles godeffroyi, with straight man- dibles and slightly recurved preapical tooth set less than its own length away from the dorsal apical tooth. Clypeus with anterior border only extremely feebly concave, almost straight. Posterior mesonotum gently concave. Propodeal teeth acute and elevated, but each is encumbered in a thin, areolate infradental lamella which becomes broadly convex below, the lamellae with a few barely perceptible strands of spongiform tissue on their lateral faces. Petiolar node subcircular seen from above, broadly rounded above and with steeply sloping anterior face as seen from the side. Postpetiolar disc convex, broader than long, its surface completely, distinctly and regularly longitudinally costu- late and opaque.
Gaster with rather coarse basal costulae interspersed with fine parallel striation extending to about the mid- length of the first segment; remainder of gastric surface smooth and shining. Pronotum very indistinctly sub- striate over punctulation in a longitudinal direction, defi- nitely cpaque. Head, alitrunk, legs and petiole densely punetulate, opaque; fore coxae and a ventral strip along mesopleura smooth and shining.
Pilosity of alitrunk similar in plan to that of godeffroyi, but much reduced, the hairs smaller, fewer and more near- ly appressed. Humeral and mesonotal paired flagellate hairs extremely fine, as are also the lateral and posterior occipi-



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118 Ps~c~@ [December
tals. Ground pilosity of head abundant, extremely fine and inconspicuous, appressed or nearly so and directed anterior- ly and medially. A half dozen or fewer weak erect flagellate hairs on the gastric dorsum. Spongiform appendages cov- ering less than half the sides of the nodes, generally less well developed than in godeflrogi.
Holotype taken in U. S. Plant Quarantine at Honolulu (No. 8807) from plants of Grammatophyllum multiflorum originating in the Philippine Islands ; deposited in USNM. Paratypes: Three workers with the same data as for holotype do not vary in measurements by much more than the usual maximum error. CI 67-68, MI 48-49. [USNM, MCZ.]
Alate female paratype, same data as for holotype: TL 2-7, HL 0.62, ML 0.28, WL 0.72; CI 74, MI 45. Like worker, with usual caste differences. Mesonoturn evenly and densely punctulate, no costulae or median sulcus ; rnesepisterna and fore coxae shining. Petiolar node broader than long. Fore- wing with only R+Sc, stigma and 2r well defined; basalis oblique, indistinct; M+CuA and CuA indistinct, some oiher veins indicated by weak creases. Forewing L ca. 2.0 mm.



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