Myrmicaria striata Stitz

Type location Tanzania (Myrmicaria striata n. sp., Stitz, 1911b: 382, illustrated, worker) from Bukoba, Kagera Region, collector Schubotz - see below
junior synyonyms (here)
buttgenbachi (Myrmicaria striata Stitz r. Buttgenbachi n. stirps, Forel, 1913b: 337, worker) from Zaïre - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=rmcaent000017757
insularis (Santschi, 1920i: 2, worker & male) from Sao Thomé I. - no worker images on Antweb (October 2014) - male see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0913056
all forms known (see Bolton, 1995) .

I have removed the much smaller Myrmicaria pilosa with its junior synonym angustithorax to separate species status

Stitz's (1911b) description is at Forel's (1913b) description of buttgenbachi is at Arnold (1916: 267) gave an illustrated translation of striata, this is at . Santschi's (1925c) descriptions are at and

Santschi's (1925c) description is as follows:
WORKER - TL 6.8-8.5. Dark brown intensifying to black on the head and dorsal alitrunk. Shiny. Central area of face feebly sculptured as in natalensis and dorsally with parallel spaced rugae, these are elongated and diverge feebly towards the vertex. Transverse ridge very faint but always distinct. Antennal fosses (condylar bulbs?) and antennal area smooth (these have fine arched rugae in most other species). Sides of head finely longitudinally rugose with a few oblique anastomoses and a large smooth area towards the inferior (ventral) border. Pronotal rugae similar to natalensis with the median carina often much stronger than the laterals, which arch anteriorly. Scapes and tibiae striate. Lateral alitrunk and abdomen smooth and shiny. Erect pilosity red-brown, somewhat shorter and less abundant (this may mean finer) than natalensis.
Head as long as wide in minor workers, a little wider posteriorly in majors, occipital border as concave as natalensis. Frontal carinae sinuous; clypeus well defined and striated. Clypeus slightly convex with a strong median ridge taking the place of a carina and several lateral striations. Antennae as in natalensis. Promesonotum dorsum a little more convex than natalensis, with the dorsal suture impressed and the mesokatepisternal tooth no bigger. Mesonotal lobes less well developed, not appearing as a flange in profile. Metanotal groove well developed and more open. Propodeum dorsum on a raised level as in natalensis but with the borders not as raised, the dorsum twice as long as wide, indented medially and less raised anteriorly. Propodeal spines as in natalensis but, seen in profile, their base seems slightly convex in majors. Pedicel a good third longer than the node. That has the profile of a truncated cone with a rounded summit; being a quarter higher than the basal length. Postpetiole as high as the petiole with the anterior face very oblique, so as to put the anterior-superior angle about the mid-length of the node; the posterior face is vertical or even slightly sloping forward basally.

Subspecies buttgenbachi Forel

WORKER - TL 7.5-8 mm. Black, tarsi, mandibles and clypeus brown-rust. Pilosity brown-black. More striate and less rugose than type; very shiny, smoother between rugae. Mesokatepisternal teeth much stronger, and as long as the height of the pronotum, above all directed laterally and forward. Pedicel nodes shorter, more raised and more conical, the petiole much wider than long. "Probably from Katanga Region".

Subspecies insularis Santschi

WORKER - TL 6.5-7 mm. Black-brown; dorsum of head and gaster near black. Mandibles, cheeks, pedicel of petiole, appendages and anus brown to rust. Erect pilosity yellow, fine shorter and less abundant than natalensis.
Shiny. Rugae on head longitudinal, irregular, interrupted, spaced, low and with anastomoses. Alitrunk rugae altogether less strong than on head, especially the median carina. Both propodeal dorsum and declivity, the pedicel nodes and the gaster smooth and shiny with spaced puncturations. Head as in type but a little straighter; clypeus striated and mandibles with 4 teeth. Mesonotum with an angular dorsal profile, dorsum sloping downwards slightly to the declivity. Propodeal dorsum feebly convex and elongated, less raised than baumi and striata. Propodeal spines horizontal, slightly divergent and a little less shorter than the declivity. Petiole node as in the type but the anterior face is more inclined to the in front of the top and more oblique to the rear. Postpetiole as long as high (height greater in the type). Summit short and inclined forward. Gaster truncate anteriorly. Apparently solely from São Tomé.

MALE - taken in isolation; TL 11 mm; black; mandibles, scape and base of funiculus red; rest of appendages reddish-brown; wings blackish; pilosity very short, truncated; dorsum of alitrunk shinier, the interridges smoother than M. eumenoides;  propodeum more angular; node of petiole less clearly delimited, superior anterior face rising smoothly from the base to the pedicel.

The photomontage of the type worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0908334.

The photomontage of the insularis male is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0913056.