Tetraponera latifrons (Emery)

Type location Gabon (Sima (Pachysima) latifrons n. sp., Emery, 1912b: 98, illustrated, queen; Santschi, 1914c: 288, worker & male; in Tetraponera, Ward, 1990: 688); all forms described (see Bolton, 1995) .

Emery's (1912b) description of the queen is at . Santschi's (1914c) description of the worker and male is at .

The photomontage of the type queen is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0904042.

The photomontage of the Santschi "type" worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0915529.

Wheeler (1922: 308) gave an illustration and notes of what he identified as latifrons from Zaïre. He listed it from Cameroun (from Tiko, near Victoria, F. Silvestri), together with Congo and Zaïre. He gave a few details, mainly of the larvae; and reported it as found in and on a Barteria. On the worker ge gave - TL 7-8.5 mm; head more typical of genus than aethiops; clypeus with a conspicuous fringe of yellow ciliary bristles; petiole and postpetiole with rearward hooked processes, quite pronounced on petiole; black and shining. The drawing of the head, however, is somewhat different from the Emery queen and the workers I show below. 

In the report of the Lang-Chapin expedition there also is much information on the relation between the ant and the plant (Bequaert, 1922) and on the woody structure of the plant (by Professor Bailey) (see Ant Plants).

The specimens shown below were kindly sent to me by Rumsais Blatrix, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 1919 route de Mende, F-34293 Montpellier cedex 5, France; who has been studying Tetraponera colonies on Barteria fistulosa and found about 8% were T. latifrons, matching the original description.  Thus, I have corrected this page and replaced the thumbnail used in the key.

Oxford University Museum specimens

Tetraponera latifrons B Taylor det.	Cameroun BFIF R Blatrix	16.iii.2009 Mamelles 2°35.888’ N 9°55.304’ E	from Barteria fistulosa	1
Tetraponera latifrons B Taylor det.	Cameroun BF12F R Blatrix	17.iii.2009 Edea 03°48.874’ N 10°19.858’ E	from Barteria fistulosa	1
Tetraponera latifrons B Taylor det.	Central African Republic P Annoyer DO	26.i.2005 Dzanga-Sangha 02°48’20.5" N 16°06’14.0" E	Camp1; 26.01.2005, 8h30, larves nymphes et fourmis dans tige de N’Goma N’Goma (Barteria sp., Flacourtiacées); 350m asl dark purple colour	2

The photomontage is of a specimen from the Cameroun, Mamelles; 16.iii.2009; BFIF; 02°35.888’" N 9°06’55.304" E;  from Barteria fistulosa; collectors R Blatrix & C Djieto-Lordon.

The photomontage is of a specimen from the Cameroun, Edea; 17.iii.2009; BF12F; 03°48.874’ N 10°19.858’ E; from Barteria fistulosa; collectors R Blatrix & C Djieto-Lordon.

The photomontage is of a worker from the Central African Republic, Dzanga-Sangha NP; collector Philippe Annoyer (CAR DO).