The Ants of Africa
Genus Camponotus subgenus Tanaemyrmex
Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) negus Forel - new status

maculatus species-group
TL 8-10-12 mm plus; alitrunk profile convex in a smooth elongated curve, propodeal declivity not or poorly separable from dorsum, if the latter always much shorter than dorsum; petiole scale of major cuneiform, with convex anterior face and quite sharp dorsal margin; mostly bicoloured with alitrunk lighter and distinct light areas on gaster; dimorphic (?) minors with head narrowed posteriorly but not dramatically so and without any "neck".

Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) negus Forel - new status

return to key {link to the Hymenoptera Name Server} Type locality Ethiopia (Camponotus maculatus F. subsp. negus n. subsp., Forel, 1907c: 142, all forms; subspecies of thraso according to Emery, 1920c: 6) Kounhi - see below
subspecies
agricola (Camponotus maculatus subsp. Agricola, Forel 1910e: 454, major & minor workers) South Africa, Natal, Wroughton  - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0910118
unavailable names
assabensis (C. maculatus ssp adenensis var assabensis, Emery, 1893f: 258, worker) Eritrea - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0905282
beritchi (Camponotus (Myrmoturba) maculatus F. r. negus For. v. Beritchi n. v., Forel, 1915c: 348, worker) South Africa, George, Cape Province, H Brauns - no images on Antweb (October 2014)
etiennei (Camponotus maculatus subsp. negus Forel var. Etiennei n. var. Forel, 1910e: 453, major & minor workers) Zaïre, Banana, Dr Etienne - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0910126
all forms described (see Bolton, 1995) .

The type locality of thraso is Sri Lanka and subspecies range across to Israel; it seems unlikely that negus would be a subspecies with a range the length of eastern Africa, so I have taken negus as a full species. I am also including:
montinanus (Camponotus (Myrmoturba) thraso var montinanus, Santschi, 1926b: 251, major & minor workers, from Zimbabwe - see below
and nefassitensis (Camponotus maculatus subsp. negus Forel var. nefassiensis n. var., Forel, 1910c: 266; Menozzi, 1931a: 155, major & minor workers, name and distribution only) from Ethiopia, Nefassit - see below (also from Eritrea, Finzi, 1939a: 160) as probable subspecies.

Note tacitus (Camponotus maculatus race agricola, Forel var. tacitus, Santschi, 1919b: 240, major & minor workers) South Africa, Natal, Haviland - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0912069 is a light red-brown form and probably is unrelated to negus.


Forel's (1907c) description is at {original description}; his (1910e) description of agricola is at {original description}; his (1910e) description of etiennei is at {original description}; his (1910c) description of nefassitensis is at {original description}; and his (1915c) description of beritchi is at {original description}. Arnold's (1922: 648) translation, as maculatus race negus variety beritschi, is at {original description} and his (1922: 647) translation, as maculatus race agricola, is at {original description}. Santschi's (1926b) description of montinanus is at {original description}. Arnold's (1926: 293) translation of tacitus, is at {original description}

Emery (1893f) simply noted on assabensis that a worker specimen from Assab differed from adenensis in having the gaster without striolate sculpture but being irregularly transversely reticulo-punctate.


Camponotus negus majorThe photomontage is of the type major worker collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0910122


Camponotus negus minorThe photomontage is of the type minor worker collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0910123


{Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) negus nefassitensis}The photomontage of C. negus nefassitensis is collated from The Smithsonian Insitute type images at http://ripley.si.edu/ent/nmnhtypedb/public/specimeninfopage.cfm?publicconsumption=1&typespecimenID=619


Camponotus negus montinanus majorThe photomontage is of a syntype major worker of montinanus collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0903529

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© 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014 - Brian Taylor CBiol FSB FRES
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