SUBFAMILY DOLICHODERINAE
Genus Axinidris Weber
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The Ants of
Africa SUBFAMILY DOLICHODERINAE Genus Axinidris Weber |
| Dolichoderinae Introduction |
Diagnostic Features - The propodeum is armed with a pair of teeth, tubercles or acute angles posterolaterally, sometimes these are linked by a narrow carina; propodeal spiracle located near the dorsal surface of the propodeum, at least anterior border raised on a slight projection, directing opening rearwards. Between the armament, or somewhat more dorsally, is a prominent tubercle, projecting plate, longitudinal ridge or tooth. Petiolar node broadly rounded dorsally and strongly inclined anteriorly.
Weber's (1941a) genus description is at 
. Shattuck's (1991) genus revision is at 
- pdf not available on HNS.
The revision by Shattuck (1991) enlarged Axinidris, hitherto containing only one species from East Africa, into a multi-species genus, with the nine West African species, a Central African species (denticulatum, which might well be found in West Africa); and three East African species. Surprisingly, Shattuck did not give measurements of Total Length, although he cites genus members as being between 2.9 and 4.5 mm in overall body length.
Key to all species known from Africa (developed from Shattuck, 1991; and the extended key of Snelling, 2007).
| 1 | Propodeal ridge cariniform or absent; pronotum with evenly rounded sides | 2 |
| -- |  Propodeal ridge compressed and strongly elevated; pronotum
dorsum with weakly margined sides; fresh specimens with an abundance of
long, slender whitish hairs |
, |
| . |  |
South Sudan & Kenya - acholli |
| 2 | Pronotum and scape without raised hairs; gaster tergites usually without erect hairs | 3 |
| -- | Pronotum with at least 2 erect hairs; scape and gaster tergites with or without erect hairs | 10 |
| 3 | Propodeum with dorsal median carina at least on the posterior half; propodeum with variable spines | 4 |
| -- |  Propodeal dorsum without a
median carina; spines triangular in profile with surface between them
straight; Head, alitrunk and gaster reddish-brown; lateral areas of head finely imbricate and with widely spaced punctures |
West Africa - bidens [part?] |
| 4 | Pronotum dorsum with imbricate sculpturation and only slightly shiny; rest of alitrunk duller with fine contiguous puncturation; dorsal surfaces with abundant appressed pubescence; distance between outer margins of propodeal spines subequal to width of propodeum at the spiracles | 5 |
| -- | Pronotum and mesepisternum smooth and shiny; contrasting with with finely and contiguously puncturate propodeum; pronotum with sparse appressed pubescence; distance between outer margins of propodeal spines much less than width of propodeum at the spiracles | 7 |
| 5 | Vertex of head and gastral tergites without erect hairs | 6 |
| -- |  Vertex of head with
one pair of erect hairs below the dorsal margin; gastral tergites 3
& 4 each with several erect hairs;?? yellowish-red, tarsi light yellow |
Liberia - occidentalis |
| 6 | HL > HW; HW < 0.70 mm; head and body dark brown, lower half of clypeus, mandibles and most of scape yellowish-red; meso- and metatarsi whitish | Kenya - icipe |
| -- |  HL < HW; HW 0.97 mm; head and body black; hypostomal
area, ventral head, mandibles and legs reddish-black; tarsi dark
yellowish-red |
. |
| . |  |
Kenya - kakamagensis |
| 7 | Propodeum with the carina low and right-angle to obtuse in profile | 8 |
| -- |  Propodeum with the carina elevated and acute in profileraised dorsally into a tooth |
. |
| . |  |
Malawi, South Africa - tridens |
| 8 | At least fourth gastral tergite with 2 or more erect hairs; head and body light brown | 9 |
| -- |  Third & fourth
gastral tergites without erect hairs; head and pro-mesonotum light
reddish; petiole and base of gaster yellowish |
Central African Republic - mlalu |
| 9 |  Hypostomal area without erect
or suberect hairs; longest hair on fourth gastral tergite about 0.1 mm
long and erect hair on vertex of head about 0.66 of that on the frontal
lobe |
Kenya - okekai |
| -- | Hypostomal area with several erect or suberect hairs; longest hair on fourth gastral tergite about 0.06 mm long and longest erect hair on vertex of head about 0.60 of that on the frontal lobe | Namibia - namib |
| . | Pronotum with at least 2 erect hairs; scape and gaster tergites with or without erect hairs | . |
| 10 | Propodeum lacking a median carina and lateral spines much reduced in dorsal view; pronotum with one pair of long erect hairs and propodeal spines each with a similar hair; clypeal notch broad and shallow | 11 |
| -- | Propodeum with distinct median carina; pilosity not as foregoing; clypeal notch relatively narrow | 12 |
| 11 | Medium to dark brown; gena
distinctly finely imbricate; HW > 0.5 mm |
West Africa & [?] Kenya - bidens [part?] |
| -- |  Head and body light
reddish-yellow, gaster sometimes darker; genae smooth and shiny,
sometimes weakly imbricate; HW usually < 0.50 mm (may be up to 0.52
mm)Antennal scapes attaining but not surpassing the occiput?; dark yellow brown; finely shagreened, most densely on head and propodeum; pair of long hairs on clypeus, pronotum, propodeum and gaster; pubescence sparse; head near rectangular, eyes large (ca quarter of head), set around the midpoint; pro-mesonotum convex, propodeum with dorsum about four times as long as the declivity, with a distinct transverse ridge and declivity concave (former parvus is a junior synonym) |
Liberia, (Gabon) Zaïre & Kenya - hypoclinoides |
| 12 | In dorsal view, distance between outer margins of propodeal spines equal to or greater than width of propodeum at spiracles; pronotum dull due to coarse imbrication or puncturation, and closely pubescent | 13 |
| -- | In dorsal view, distance between outer margins of propodeal spines distinctly less than width of propodeum at spiracles and/or pronotum shiny and sparsely pubescent | 14 |
| 13 |  Erect hairs on head and
alitrunk brown, coarse and seta-like; propodeal spines short, no longer
than thick in profile |
Ghana - nigripes |
| -- |  Erect hairs on head
and alitrunk fine and yellowish;
propodeal spines distinctly longer than thick in profile |
Kenya - luhya |
| 14 | Mesonotum either smooth and shiny between short longitudinal rugae or slightly shiny and coarsely rugulose | 15 |
| -- | Mesonotum moderately shiny, anteriorly finely imbricate, posteriorly duller and densely puncturate | 16 |
| 15 | Mesonotum smooth and shiny between short longitudinal rugae; head and body light reddish brown | Tanzania - stageri |
| -- |  Mesonotum slightly
shiny and coarsely rugulose; head and
body dark brown |
South Africa - lignicola |
| 16 | Scape with fine prostrate pubescence but no erect or suberect hairs; front of head with six erect hairs (two along each frontal carina and two posteriorly) | 17 |
| -- | Scape with at least one or two erect hairs in addition to prostrate pubescence; front of head with two erect hairs along each frontal carina and four or more posteriorly | 19 |
| 17 | In dorsal view, distance between outer margins of propodeal spines distinctly less than width of propodeum at spiracles; frons and vertex moderately shiny, weakly imbricate and with scattered weak punctures; gaster concolorous with alitrunk | 18 |
| -- |  In dorsal view, distance between outer margins of
propodeal spines at least equal to width of propodeum at spiracles;
frons and vertex weakly shiny, contiguously finely puncturate and
strigulate; alitrunk brown, gaster yellowish red |
. |
| . | |
Ghana - palligastrion |
| 18 |  Median carina of
propodeum broadly rounded in profile;
second tergite of gaster moderately shiny and densely punctate; body
colour reddish-brown; proximal region of tarsi similar in colour to
distal tibia |
Congo Basin - denticulatum |
| -- |  Median carina of propodeum subacute in profile;
second tergite of gaster shiny between sparse puncturestarsi light yellow |
Ghana - ghanensis |
| 19 | Pronotum with at least two fully erect hairs in addition to humeral pair; frons slightly shiny to shiny; with weak sculpturation | 20 |
| -- |
 Pronotum with only
two fully erect hairs, one at each
humerus; frons shiny, with variable sculpturation; head blackish,
distal mandible yellowish, with reddish-yellow teeth, body dark brown,
petiole mostly whitish, legs brown with paler tarsi |
Gabon - gabonica |
| 20 | Scape with six or more short erect hairs; frons slightly shiny; finely colliculate to imbricate | 21 |
| -- |  Scape with one or
two short erect hairs; frons shiny,
weakly coriaceous Body colour dark reddish brown to black; proximal region of tarsi much lighter than the distal tibia |
. |
| . |  |
Nigeria - kinoin |
| 21 |  Body colour reddish-yellow; gaster yellow and similarly
coloured to posterior of petiole |
. |
| . |  |
Ghana - hylekoites |
| -- |  Body and gaster
colour reddish-brown; gaster darker than
posterior of petiole |
West Africa & Gabon - murielae |
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© 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015 - Brian Taylor CBiol FSB FRES 11, Grazingfield, Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7FN, U.K. |
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