Anochetus africanus Mayr

Type location Ghana (Stenomyrmex africanus, Mayr, 1865: 11, footnote, worker; André 1892a: 47, queen, from Gabon) - no images on Antweb (October 2018)
junior synonyms
camerunensis (Anochetus africanus Mayr var. camerunensis nov. var., Mayr, 1896: 236, worker & male) from Cameroun, collected by Y. Sjöstedt - see https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0915884
pasteuri (Anochetus Pasteuri n. sp., Santschi, 1923e: 265, worker & queen; synonymy Brown, 1978c: 556) from Zaïre - see below
all forms described (Bolton, 1995) .

Mayr's (1865) description is at . André's (1892a) description of the queen is at . Mayr's (1896) description of camerunensis is at . Santschi's (1923e) description of pasteuri is at . Brown's (1978c: 556) description is at .

Nigeria specimens (Taylor, 1976: 13). WORKER. TL 5.7 mm, HL 1.24, HW 1.24, SL 1.24 and PW 0.68
Dorsum of head finely striate. Alitrunk striate, coarser on propodeum, and meso- and metanotal grooves both distinct. Apex of the petiolar node is emarginate with two blunt teeth. Eyes moderately large, length 0.19 mm. Overall colour castaneous, but legs yellow, shiny.
I collected it from soil and debris aggregations in crevices of mature cocoa trees at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Idi Ayunre; also from a rotten log (B. Bolton).

Wheeler (1922) listed findings from Ghana at Aburi (F. Silvestri); Cameroun at Mundame (Conradt), Victoria (F. Silvestri), Bibundi (Tessmann) and Molundu (Schultze); plus elsewhere in Congo eastwards.

From Guinea, Bernard (1952) recorded - 2 yellowish workers from Station B 8.24, Nimba; 6 workers with black cheeks, N'Zo; 4 dark brown workers, Camp IV, forest, 1000 m. He noted that this is the most common and most variable of the species, found in ¾ of the continent, plus Madagascar.

Brown (1978c) described it as oft-collected and reported it as ranging throughout the forested regions of West and Central Africa as far south as northern Angola, southern Zaïre; eastwards to Uganda and southern Sudan; and north-west to Liberia, at Gibi (W.M. Mann). He described finding it foraging only at night in the Ivory Coast (Brown, 1976).

Similar Ghana findings in cocoa and Lantana scrub at the Mampong Cemetery farm (Room, 1971). Also from cocoa mistletoe (Room, 1975). Two workers were collected by pkd at Kade by Majer (1975, 1976b); and it occurred in leaf litter samples (176 workers, from six sampling sites) at cocoa farms, primary and secondary forest scattered throughout the semi-deciduous forest zone, by Belshaw & Bolton (1994b).

The photomontage is of the pasteuri type worker collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=rmcaent000017740.

Oxford University Museum specimens

Anochetus africanus B Taylor det. Queen	Liberia E Poirier Yekepa SLAM C1	29.iii.2013 Nimba County 07°33’38" N 08°32’33" E	SLAM canopy trap Secondary forest 473 m asl	1
Anochetus africanus B Taylor det. Queen	Liberia E Poirier Yekepa SLAM C2	29.iii.2013 Nimba County 07°33’38" N 08°32’33" E	SLAM canopy trap Secondary forest 473 m asl	i
Anochetus africanus B Taylor det.	Cameroun A Fotso Kuate Anochetus africanus	9.v.2007 Awae II 03°54'30" N 11°25'58" E	Quadrat in forest	2
Anochetus africanus B Taylor det.	Cameroun A Fotso Kuate Sample 58	28.vii.2010 Nko’ondo 03°54'30" N 11°25'58" E	collected in aphid survey	1

The photomontage is of a worker collected from Cameroun, Awae; coll A Fotso Kuate.(fk anochetus africanus)

The photomontage is of a worker collected from Cameroun, Nko'ondo; A Fotso Kuate.(fk unmounted 58)

The photomontage is of a queen collected from Liberia, Yekepa; E Poirier (SLAM C1)

The photomontage is of a specimen from the Zimbabwe National Museum - http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=sam-hym-c002513a.
Specimen Code: SAM-HYM-C002513A
Specimen Images
Locality: Uganda: Mabira Forest; 01°00'00"S 032°00'00"E
Collection Information: Collection codes: SAM-HYM-C002513 Date: 22 Apr 1952
Collected by: Nat. Mus. S. Rhodesia

A specimen of a queen can be seen on the Antweb.org site at http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0101408
Collection Information: Specimen Code CASENT0101408; Locality Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo): [Loango Forét du Bavuoge, Museum Paris, Vadon 1911]; Collection codes: ANTC3608. It has the original label "Anochetus sylvaticus" - "Type Sants(chi)" but should not be confused with Anochetus silvaticus described by Bernard (1952) which is a junior synonym of Anochetus traegaordhi. Brown (1978) does not refer to the specimen nor the name "sylvaticus" and Santschi does not seem to have published any description.