Crematogaster (Crematogaster) rufimembrum Santschi new status

Type location Tanzania (Crematogaster tricolor Gerst. stirps rufimembrum n. st., Santschi, 1914a: 431, worker) Khutu Steppe, K Schwarze, 1912 - see below

Collected by Room (1971) from all parts of the Mampong Cemetery cocoa farm in Ghana, his report includes reference to it ("very close to Cr. striatula") as nesting in cocoa canopy. It also occurred in 34 of his 168 canopy samples at other farms; 30 of those samples were from trees selected for the presence of Oecophylla longinoda as a dominant, and Room described its very close association with O. longinoda. Room also reported its occurrence on cocoa mistletoe - being fifth most abundant insect, with 3,228 workers, from less than 30 of 630 samples of the mistletoe/cocoa junction (unranked) (Room, 1972a, b, 1975). Leston (1973) also regarded it as sometimes a dominant but mutually tolerant of O. longinoda. Found on cocoa at Kade by Majer, who found it in 61.1% of his 144 pkd samples at Kade, with 200-400 workers per sample (1975, 1976a, b, c). It is probably among the list of Strickland (1951a). Bigger (1981a) recorded its distribution and abundance on a single area of Amelonado cocoa at CRIG, where small numbers were collected by pkd from areas dominated by Oecophylla longinoda.
I have long suspected that the species from Ghana was not true castanea but resolution had to await examination of actual specimens, which has not been possible (as at August 2016). Now having separated the Senegal and Sudan workers (below), it seems highly likely that the records were of Cr. rufimembrum but the resemblance to Cr. striatula is very superficial.

Oxford University Museum specimens (previously listed by me as Cr. castanea)

Crematogaster (Crematogaster) rufimembrum B Taylor det.	Sudan J Mathews JM 174	25.xi.2001 Abu Gmein, Blue Nile 11°21' N 34°27' E	pyrethrum fogging of Acacia senegal	2
Crematogaster (Crematogaster) rufimembrum B Taylor det.	Sudan J Mathews JM 370	12.x.2001 Khordonia 11°51' N 34°15' E	Damazine Plantation, Blue Nile pyrethrum fogging of Acacia senegal	1
Crematogaster (Crematogaster) rufimembrum B Taylor det.	Senegal Tambacounda B Ndiaye	8.v.2009 Niakafiri 13°09'40" N 12°06'46" W	Niakafiri 8-V-09 St 6 collet d'un arbre 213 m; Soudanian savannah, hand collection, on tree	3

The photomontage is of a worker from Sudan, collected by J Mathews (JM 174), by pyrethrum fogging of Acacia senegal; Abu Gmein, Blue Nile.

The photomontage is of a worker from Sudan, collected by J Mathews (JM 370), by pyrethrum fogging of Acacia senegal; Abu Gmein, Blue Nile.

The photomontage is of a worker from Senegal, collector B Ndiaye.