Paratrechina nimba Bernard - new status

Type location Guinea (Paratrechina weissi Sant. sbsp. nimba n.sbsp, Bernard, 1952: 258, illustrated, worker, possible queen) one queen and 24 workers from savanna locations - Kéoulenta and Sérengbara (stations F169, F173 and T200), cotypes numerous workers preserved in alcohol - see below; worker described .

Bernard's (1952) note, with description of nimba is at .

WORKER - TL not given; that of nimba queen 4.8 mm. Form of Paratrechina weissi and nimba very similar, save for the shape of the propodeum - as shown by Bernard (right) - that, however,  seems erroneous with weissi having the convex profile to the propodeum shown by the other related species. Colour of some nimba specimens dark yellow (as with weissi) and others brown with the thorax clearer (after Bernard, 1952).

Bernard also reported the species from Banco, Ivory Coast (Delamare-Deboutteville, 1945).

The denotation of nimba as a subspecies of weissi by Bernard is somewhat surprising when one considers his separation of arlesi from its relatives on thorax details, albeit noting that arlesi perhaps was larger than its relatives. The indications are that a sparsity of weissi specimens may have deterred Bernard from defining nimba as more than a subspecies.

I am ignoring the synonymy under P. jaegerskioeldi by LaPolla, Hawkes & Fisher (2011) as I believe it to be undemonstrated.

The queen from Liberia shown below is about 70% of the size of the queen I have from Egypt. Proportionally the eyes are slightly smaller, as are the ocelli.

What is clear from sighting and comparing the type images is that  P. nimba is the senior synonym of Paratrechina boltoni (shown at the bottom).

The photomontage of the type worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0179590

Oxford University Museum specimens

Paratrechina nimba B Taylor det. Queen	Liberia E Poirier Yekepa Camp 4 PF 18	6.iv.2013 Nimba County 07°33’04" N 08°33’17" E	Pitfall trap Floodplain & marsh 501 m asl	1
Paratrechina nimba B Taylor det.	Liberia E Poirier Yekepa Camp 4 PF 16	6.iv.2013 Nimba County 07°33’04" N 08°33’17" E	Pitfall trap Floodplain & marsh 501 m asl	4
Paratrechina boltoni B Taylor det.	Liberia E Poirier Yekepa Camp 4 PF 19	6.iv.2013 Nimba County 07°33’04" N 08°33’17" E	Pitfall trap Floodplain & marsh 501 m asl	1
Paratrechina boltoni B Taylor det.	Ghana S Sky Stephens 06G0072	v.-viii.2006	Treatment 3 In personal collection of S Sky Stephens	1
Paratrechina boltoni B Taylor det.	Ghana S Sky Stephens 06G0071	2006	Treatment 5 In personal collection of S Sky Stephens	1
Paratrechina boltoni B Taylor det.	Benin J-F Vayssieres RVA 2936.1	7.x.2012 Korobourou 09°22'13'' N 02°40'16'' E	Mangifera indica orchard Quadrat 1, tube 2, variété: Kent Ground nesting	1

The photomontage is of a worker from Liberia, Yekepa Camp 4; collector E Poiriet (Yekepa Camp 4 PF 16). The location is within the Mt Nimba range. This exactly matches the type worker (above).

The photomontage is of a second worker from Liberia, Yekepa Camp 4; collector E Poiriet (Yekepa Camp 4 PF 16).

The photomontage is of a queen from Liberia, Yekepa Camp 4; collector E Poiriet (Yekepa Camp 4 PF 18).

Paratrechina boltoni (LaPolla & Fisher)

Type location Gabon (Nylanderia boltoni LaPolla & Fisher, 2011: 14, illustrated, worker & male) Mondah, 24.ii.1998, B L Fisher - see below

GABON: F.C. Mondah, 21 km 331° NNW Libreville, 00°34'36" N, 009°20'06" E, elev. 10 m; 24.ii.1998 (B.L. Fisher) (CASC) (CASENT0179580); 1 paratype worker, same label data as holotype (USNM); 1 paratype worker, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: P.N. Dzanga-Nodki, 21.4km 53 NE Bayanga, 3 02.01’N, 16 24.57’E, 510 m, 1–7.v.2001 (S. van Noort) (USNM) .

Diagnosis: Worker head width less than 0.48 mm; yellowish-brown to brown species, with very short, angular propodeal dorsal face; mesocoxae and metacoxae lighter than procoxae in color.

Description: Overall yellowish brown, with lighter brown to yellow mandibles, antennae, and legs; head and gaster typically darker brown than mesosoma, although in some specimens the mesosoma is the same color as the head and gaster, or just the anterior portion of the pronotum is the same color; cuticle smooth and shining; coxae may be entirely yellowish-brown in color; in some specimens mesocoxae and metacoxae slightly lighter in color than procoxae. Head with a dense layer of pubescence; scapes surpass posterior margin by about the length of the first two funicular segments; scapes with scattered erect macrosetae and a dense layer of pubescence (SMC = 13–16); posterior margin with rounded posterolateral corners, slightly emarginate medially. Mesosoma with erect macrosetae of varying lengths concentrated on posterior pronotum and mesonotum (PMC = 2–4; MMC= 2–4); pubescence scattered across mesosomal notum; metanotal area compact; dorsal face of propodeum angular and low (lower than mesonotum) with very short dorsal face and longer declivitous face; propodeal dorsum with pubescence; declivity smooth and shining with no pubescence. Gaster with erect macrosetae and a dense layer of pubescence.

Measurements (n = 4): TL 1.8–2.3 HW 0.40–0.47 HL 0.52–0.61 EL 0.12–0.15 SL 0.52– 0.64 PW 0.29–0.37 WL 0.56–0.69 GL: 0.76–1.0
Indices: CI 77–81 REL 22–25 SI 121–136

Nigeria specimens (as Paratrechina species 1, Taylor, 1978: 27). WORKER TL 1.99 mm, HL 0.57, HW 0.49, SL 0.65, PW 0.34
Overall colour brown, shiny but with dense pubescence on gaster and head. Head with abundant short erect hairs. Alitrunk with four pairs of erect hairs in line on dorsum, two pairs of smaller erect hairs on pronotum outside of the main line. Promesonotal and metanotal sutures distinct.
Nests in leaf litter and in dead wood on the soil, also under bark on a living tree. Found foraging on cocoa, where it was quite common, on 0.1-1.0% of cocoa trees, tending aphids and perhaps building debris tents (Taylor, 1977). Also found foraging on the soil, oil palm and coffee. See Nigeria cocoa ants

Not referred to by LaPolla & Fisher (2011); although one of my specimens, was listed, as from "Owena, CRIN,  ...., 24 Sept 1975".

My field record for this specimen reads: Onipe (Gambari ES) 24.vii.1975, Plot N, tree 57-14, with aphids and membracids on cherelles. For the plot see Onipe and the CRIN map

Photomontage of the worker designated as type by LaPolla & Fisher (2011); collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0179580 

Locality: Gabon; Collection codes: BLF01742;  
Collected by: B.L.Fisher  
Habitat: littoral rainforest
Date: 24 Feb 1998
Method: EG10 sifted litter
Transect Type: MW 50 sample transect, 5m ; Transect Sample #: 49

Also http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0179581 Locality: Ghana: Tafo (Cocoa Research Institute); Collection Information: Collection codes: Belshaw 5; Collected by: R. Belshaw; Habitat: Secondary Forest; Date: 23 Dec 1991; Leaf Litter.

The photomontage is of a worker from Benin, Korobouro; collector J-F Vayssieres (RVA2936.1).

The photomontage is of a worker from Ghana, collected by S Sky Stephens, 2006 (06G0072).

The photomontage is of a worker from Ghana, collected by S Sky Stephens (06G0071).