Parasyscia kodecorum

The types were collected from a nest in a hollow, rotten stick embedded in leaf litter of mature lowland rain forest.

Identification
Brown (1975) - This species is a rather typical Cerapachys, resembling members of the Parasyscia dohertyi group, but it may be distinguished from all known members of this group by means of its unusually thick antennae, with only 11 segments total and extremely short ring segments, and by the broad facial scrobal impressions to receive the retracted antennae in part. C. kodecorum is easily told from other II-segmented Indo-Australian Cerapachys by its relatively large eyes and coarse, partly open sculpture.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia.

Nomenclature

 *  kodecorum. Cerapachys kodecorum Brown, 1975: 70, figs. 74-78 (w.) BORNEO.

Worker
Holotype: TL 4.3, HL 0.85, HW 0.76 (CI 89; HL includes frontal lobes, and HW is taken just behind eyes), ML 0.15, scape L 0.51, greatest diameter of eye 0.20, WL 1.13, petiolar node L 0.42, W 0.51, postpetiole L 0.52, W 0.63 mm.

Paratypes (19 from type nest series) range downward slightly from the size of the holotype; smallest worker TL 3.7, HL 0.79, HW 0.70 (CI 89), ML 0.12, scape L 0.47, greatest diameter of eye 0.19, WL 1.00 mm.

General habitus, sculpture, and a number of particular characters are shown reasonably well in figs., so I shall restrict my description to emphasizing the distinctive features and to those traits not well shown in the figures. The descriptive remarks apply to the whole type series.

Head broad, seen in full-face view posterior margin border straight to feebly convex, usually feebly concave in the middle, posterior border meeting convex sides at definite but obtuse angles. Eyes prominent, their middles situated slightly in front of midlength of head. Just anterior to each eye is a shallow but prominent indentation or scrobe running across the cranium to become subconfluent with its opposite mate at the midline, and together they form an arcuate sulcus bounded in front by a sharp, irregular, semicircular carina that connects the flanking cheek carinae and separates the anterodorsal part of the head, bearing frontal carinae and lobes and antennal insertions, from the main part of the vertex. Frontal lobes sharply obliquely raised, close together but not touching; extending posteriad a short way as fine carinae, these also close together, subparallel, but separate. Descending anterior face of clypeus with an obscure median carina that appears as a minute tooth or tubercle in full-face view; translucent free apron of clypeus narrow, gently convex. Mandibles triangular, strongly curved ventrad, their basal margins curving into apical margins; the latter indistinctly denticulate (crenulate), smooth and shining, with spaced, coarse punctures. Anterior corners of head formed by prominent, subrectangular cheek carinae.

Antennae unusually strongly incrassate, especially across apex of scape (maximum width in holotype 0.23 mm) and apical segment of funiculus (L 0.40, W 0.22 mm in holotype); 11 segments total in antennae, the 3 ring segments following the pedicel (III, IV and V from base of antenna) extremely short; all segments except scape and apical segment wider than long.

Trunk: transverse anterior pronotal margin complete, sharp, raised; propodeal declivity also bounded by a distinct continuous margin. Petiole with a distinct anterodorsal margin. Subpetiolar process deep, narrowly rounded and laterally compressed, with a circular fovea in the middle.

Sculpture. Narrow interfoveolar interspaces of dorsum of head and trunk smooth and shining, also broad, smooth, and shining areas on dorsum of trunk in middle of mesonotum and propodeum, and on sides of trunk centered on mesopleura. Propodeal declivity nearly smooth, shining.

Petiole and postpetiole densely and fairly coarsely foveolate, prevailingly subopaque both above and below. Base of first gastric (IV abdominal) segment a little less coarsely, but still densely, foveolate at base, the foveolae becoming more spaced, and the intervals broad, smooth, and shining posteriad. Pygidium densely punctate on sides, but smooth and shining on the midline. Legs finely and superficially punctulate, weakly shining. Clypeus mostly smooth; area just in front of arched carina of face nearly smooth, but crossed by sparse fine rugulae, behind antennal sockets.

Pilosity abundant, consisting of fine, obliquely erect hairs 0.10-0.20 mm long, sparse on legs and antennae, and shorter suberect to reclinate hairs, densest on petiole and postpetiole, but not forming a thick pubescence there. Legs with fairly abundant, fine, appressed pubescence.

Color dark reddish brown, legs lighter and more reddish.

Of the paratypes, one is abnormal, with head markedly flatter and broader than usual, with an asymmetrical impression in the left ventrolateral margin; this specimen has only 7 funicular segments on the left side and 6 on the right. It is probably the result of damage to the growing larva or pupa.

Type Material
Holotype and para types from a single nest (No. B-43) in a hollow, rotten stick embedded in leaf litter of mature lowland rain forest 20-25 km W of Batulitjin, SE Kalimantan (Borneo), at the end of June 1972 (W. L. Brown, Jr.). This locality is within the timber tract then being worked by the Korea Development Company (Kodeco), and the new species is named for my gracious Korean hosts, who made possible an exciting week of collecting in the forest. Paratypes are deposited in MCZ, BMNH-London, ANIC-Canberra, and Cornell University Insect Collection, Ithaca, New York.