Anochetus paripungens, Brown, WL Jr.,, 1978

Brown, WL Jr.,, 1978, Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. Part VI. Ponerinae, tribe Ponerini, subtribe Odontomachiti. Section B. Genus Anochetus and bibliography., Studia Entomologica 20, pp. 549-638 : 596-597

[241 Anochetus paripungens new species

(fig. 35)

Worker, holotype: TL 5.2, HL 1.28, HW 1.18, ML 0.70, scape L 1.05, eye L 0.22, WL 1.64 mm; Cl -92, MI 55.

Worker paratypes: TL 5.0-5.2, HL 1.24-1.31, HW 1.13-1.20, ML 0.70- 0.72, scape L 1.01-1.07, eye L 0.21-0.22, WL 1.55-1.64 mm; Cl 91-92, MI 55-56.

Head with mandibles and antennae much as in A. rectangularis , but the eyes a little smaller, more nearly circular, strongly convex. Antennal scapes just barely surpassing posterior margin of «occipital» lobe in full-face view. Frontal striation more extensive than in rectangularis , reaching a bit more than halfway from the eyes to the nuchal carina in the middle. Mandibles with straight, cultrate dorsomedial margin and obscurely crenulate ventromedial margin; preapical angle present but weak; preapical excision small; intercalary apical tooth conical, arising from near base of ventral apical tooth. Upper inner temporal areas, just beyond oblique field of frontal striation, with numerous small punctures; head otherwise generally smooth and shining.

Antennae slender; funicular segments II, III and IV together about twice as long as I; IV about twice as long as broad, and slightly longer than II. Scapes surpassing posterior border of «occipital» lobe by only about their apical thickness when the head is seen in perfect full-face view.

Trunk, petiole and gaster shown in fig. 35; notable are the small but sharp teeth on the propodeal angles and the strong, divergent teeth extending the free corners of the petiolar node, as shown in fig. 35. Pronotum with 5 sharp costulae running around anterior slope, otherwise smooth and shining, with numerous small, separated punctures on disc. Mesonotal disc more than twice as broad as long, nearly smooth, shining. Propodeum coarsely, transversely striate (or costulate) over dorsal surface, its sides smooth and shining, as are petiolar node and gaster. Mandibles and femora smooth, shining, sparsely punctulate; scapes and tibiae more densely, but very finely punctulate, moderately shining; tarsi and funiculi densely punctulate and opaque or nearly so.

Pubescente sparse on dorsal surfaces of body and undersides of head and fore coxae, especially sparse on gaster, consisting of fine, inconspicuous, appressed and decumbent hairs. Erect hairs fine, tapered, sparsely arranged along median third of head, anterior underside of head, posterior vertex, and frontal carinae; about 14 on pronotum and mesonotum (10-18 in paratypes); more and longer hairs on upper and lower surfaces of gaster (few on sides of gaster); a few scattered erect hairs on scapes, anterior sides of fore coxae, and flexor surfaces of femora, as well as inner ventral margins and apices of mandibles.

Color castaneous (dull brownish-orange); middle of vertex, mesopleura and gaster darker reddish-brown; posterior corners of head, mandibles, petiole and legs ferruginous yellow.

Queen and male unknown.

Holotype one of 13 workrs selected from a small nest series taken in a rotten log in shady gallery forest at Howard Springs, Darwin area, Northern Territory, Australia, 7-8 July 1951, by W. L. Brown, Jr. and W. Bateman. In the same log we found a colony of A. graeffei . The type locality, on the Howard River, was at the Darwin water supply source in 1951. I returned to this place in 1972, but found that it had been transformed into a public park and campground, so that the habitat was largely destroyed.

R. W. Taylor has sent me the following localities at which he collected A. paripungens , all in the Northern Territory: Holmes Jungle and Coconut Grove, near Darwin; Baroalba Spring (12.47S, 132.51E) and Sawcut Gorge (12.55S, 132.56E) in Arnhem Land.

A. paripungens is evidently most closely related to A. armstrongi , from which it can be distinguished at once by the acutely produced propodeal and petiolar teeth, as well as by its smaller body size, relatively smaller eyes and shorter scapes.