Crematogaster (Crematogaster) chiarinii Emery
  Type location Ethiopia
(Cremastogaster Chiarinii n. sp., Emery, 1881a: 271,
illustrated,
worker; Forel, 1892e: 353, queen & male) from Kaka - see below
junior synonyms (here)
affabilis (Cremastogaster
Chiarinii Em. (i) var. affabilis n. var., Forel,
1907c: 142, worker; raised to species Collingwood, 1985: 260; reverted to junior synonym here) from Somalia,
Dauele
Region, M de Rothschild - see below
taediosa (Cremastogaster taediosa
n. spec.,
Forel, 1894b: 98, worker; as subspecies
of chiarinii by Emery, 1915g: 12) from Ethiopia,
Südabessinien, Ilg - see below
all forms described (see Bolton, 1995)  .
|
 Emery's
(1881a) description is at  . Forel's (1892e) descriptions of the queen
& male is at  . Forel's (1894b)
description of taediosa is at  .
Note: v-nigra (Cremastogaster chiarinii
Em. var. V.
nigrum n.var.,
Forel, 1910e: 434, worker - NOTE the "nigra", Forel,
1910e: 434, worker, in Bolton, 1995: 158, is an error) from Congo
appears to be a species of Atopogyne and I have placed it there
as a definitive species Crematogaster (Atopogyne) v-nigra.
Forel's (1910e)
description of v-nigra is at  . He drew attention to the postpetiole
being entire without a median impression.
Note: Although
correct at the time, my diagnosis of the fresh workers from Ethiopia,
below, as chiarinii, appear
to match the types of v-nigra.
|
Note: In 2001, with
fresh specimens from Ethiopia that match Emery's description and
drawing, it seemed clear that the type form is unicoloured dark brown
to
near black and has carton nests on trees. With fresh specimens from acacia in Sudan
that appear to be close to the description given by Emery
(1896i) for the variety cincta,
I separated the distinct forms with a general yellow-brown or
red-brown colour
and darker gaster, with paler appendages, also short propodeal spines
to a separate species Crematogaster cincta. Thus I
have moved cincta, aethiops, bayeri, sellula and subsulcata.
The availability of type images from Antweb (February 2014, December
2014) confirm my opinion. The images also make it seem likely that Crematogaster affabilis is no
more than larger workers of chiarinii.
Wheeler (1922) has many records from East Africa and
into Saudi Arabia. It is likely that those were mostly if
not all cincta.
Collingwood (1985) separated it from other species
recorded from Saudi Arabia by - head wider than long; petiole about as
wide as long; alitrunk paler than head or gaster, propodeal spines more
than 0.2 mm; also more strongly sculptured than affabilis (type
location Somalia); mesonotum with keel.
|
 The
photomontage of a worker from the type collection is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0904518.
|
 The
photomontage of the taediosa
type worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0904516.
Differing only in being slightly smaller than the type
form worker.
|
 Forel's
(1907c) description of affabilis
is at  .
Collingwood
(1985, illustrated), for specimens from
Saudi
Arabia, had head only slightly wider than long; propodeal spines long
and thin, at least 0.25 mm; body with smooth sculpture, unicolorous
dark brown to black. It is difficult to judge without seeing specimens
from Saudi Arabia but Collingwood's drawing does not match the type
worker. It also seems from the type images that affabilis was described from large
workers of Crematogaster chiarinii, the
head shape being similar to but smaller than that of the queen I show
of the latter.
|
 The
photomontage of the type worker is
collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0908514
|
Oxford University Museum
specimens
Crematogaster (Crematogaster) chiarinii
B Taylor det. |
Ethiopia
Nuru Adgaba
|
2011
Bonga
07°23'N
36°14'E
|
Hand collected,
large carton nest
on tree
1650 m
|
6 workers
4 queens |
 |
|
 The
photomontage is of a worker from Ethiopia, Bonga; collector
Nuru Adgaba.
|
 The
photomontage is of a queen from Ethiopia, Bonga; collector Nuru
Adgaba.
|
 The
photomontage is a piece of the carton nest of the colony from Ethiopia,
Bonga; collector Nuru
Adgaba.
|
|
