GENUS DEFINITION: Queen (gyne) only known; dealate specimen; head unusally shaped in full-face view, trapezoidal narrowest anteriorly, the anterior  margin of the clypeus projecting over the base on the mandibles (those semi-obscured); occipital border straight but with evenly rounded corners; frontal carinae set close together, sigmoid and short, concealing the bases of the scapes; antennae 11-segmented, with an elongated three-segmented club (about 1.5 x the combined length of funiculus segments 1-7), scapes slightly surpassing the occiput; eyes large set about the mid-point of the head, with minute erect hairs arising between the facets; ocelli prominent; pronotum visible from above as a complete narrow strip; propodeum with junction of steeply angled dorsum and near vertical declivity, sharply angled; propodeal spiracle toroidal and set in the middle of the propodeum sides, without metapleural lobes; petiole with peduncle about half as long as the whole petiole; postpetiole laterally domed and quite broadly attached to the gaster; gaster ovoid seen alaterally and from above, the base indented; scape with abundant short semi-decumbent hairs; whole of body covered with such hairs, some longer hairs on the pedidecl segments and posterior gaster; overall shiny with minimla sculpturation; colour generally brown, with the gaster darker, the legs and funiculi much paler.

This possibly is an Oligomyrmex but it is considerably smaller, TL ca 2.3 mm, than the queen of Oligomyrmex (Aeneleus) menozzii, TL 4.5 mm. The latter also has longitudinal striation on the head alitrunk and pedicel segments. A male of Oligomyrmex (Aeneleus) silvestrii has filiform antennae. Comparison can also be made with the queen of Solenopsis saevissima although that is a much larger species, TL 8.2 mm. Solenopsis also have an 11-segmented antenna but with a 2-segmented club. There is some resemblance to Monomorium workers of the fossulatum-group (former Syllophopsis) but Bolton (1987: 420) states females of those have a diagnosis as worker but are considerably larger (workers with TL ca 1.6-2.0). They also have 12-segmented antennae with a shorter, distinctly enlarged club. The overall morphology is quite different to the queens of Oligomyrmex paetus and Oligomyrmex bruchi.

Yvesi pongarensis Taylor new species

Type location Gabon collected at Pongara by Yves Braet .

Description as for the genus. HW 0.42, HL 0.43, CI 88, SL 0.39, SI 91, alitrunk maximum width 0.40

Species name derived from the collection location.

The holotype specimen will be deposited in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

The photomontage is of the holotype specimen from Gabon, Pongara National Park, Camp Base, Winkler funnel extract from leaf litter, 09.vi-20.vi.2006; collected by Yves Braet. Other images can be seen in the folder at -