Eusphinctus (Nothosphinctus) nigricans, Clark, 1926

Clark, J., 1926, Australian Formicidae., Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 12, pp. 43-52 : 44-45

Eusphinctus (Nothosphinctus) nigricans n.sp. (Pl. VI, 1.)

Worker: Length 5-5. 3mm.

Black; antennae and legs brownish. Hairs yellowish, long, sub-erect, langer and more numerous on the gaster than elsewhere, short and adpressed on the antennae and legs. Pubescence yellowish, sparse throughout except on the antennae and legs, and more abundant on the head than on the gaster.

Shining. Head finely and densely punctate, mandibles coarsely punctate and feebly striate. Pronotum and mesonotum coarsely and sparsely punctate; epinotum more densely and finely punctate. Petiole and anterior half of the postpetiole coarsely and sparsely punctate; anterior half of the abdominal segments finely and sparsely punctate.

Head longer than broad, as broad in front as behind, widely concave on the occipital border, the angles sharp, sides nearly straight. Frontal carinae short, erect, truncate and confluent behind, extending back to the top of the antennal depression. Carinae of the cheeks short, prominent. Clypeus very short and broadly rounded. Eyes and ocelli absent. Mandibles abruptly bent at their base, indistinctly dentate. Antennae robust, seapes extending back beyond the middle of the head; iirst joint of the funiculus as long as broad, second to ninth broader than long, tenth longer than broad, the apical joint as long as the three preceding joints together. Thorax one and three-quarters times longer than broad, slightly broader through the pronotum than through the epinotum, slightly constricted in the mesonotal region; mesonotal sutures feebly indicated; pronotum rounded in front and on the sides, the anterior angles bluntly pointed; epinotal declivity abrupt, concave, marginate on the top, submarginate on the sides. Node of the petiole fully one and one-quarter times broader than long, broader behind than in front, the anterior border nearly straight, the sides feebly convex, the posterior border widely, but not deeply, concave; in profile slightly higher than long, the anterior face vertical, the dorsum is strongly rounded and convex above; the ventral surface in front with a long broad, blunt, tooth-like projection directed slightly backward; there is also a small sharp tooth at the posterior end of the ventral surface. Postpetiole one and one-quarter times broader than long, broader behind than in front, all four borders feebly convex; the ventral surface in front feebly produced and with a short blunt tooth-like projection. All the segments of the abdomen separated by wide, deep constrictions; the first segment is twice as broad as long. Pygidium truneate, submarginate, minutely spinulose on the sides and tip. Legs moderately long and stout.

Hab.: New South Wales , Lismore (C. F, Deuquet) .

Described from two specimens collected by my friend Mr. Deuquet in the scrub near Lismore. This species is apparently near E. N. Froggatti Forel , which I have) not seen, but from the description of the latter it is very distinct. The colour distingui shes it from all the other Australian species.