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The
Ants of Africa SUBFAMILY FORMICINAE - Genus Anoplolepis |
Contents - Formicinae - FORMICINAE Introduction |
Revised after Bolton (2003: 267) - separating Anoplolepis as previously understood into two separate genera Anoplolepis (in Tribe Lasiini; with Zealleyella as a junior synonym) and Tapinolepis (in Tribe Plagiolepidini; with Mesanoplolepis as a junior synonym).
Bolton's prime separation points
are :-
Anoplolepis - mandible with 6-9
teeth, when closed not concealed by clypeus; dorsum of head behind
clypeus with erect stout setae; eye behind mid-length of head, and
anterior arc of torus around eyes posterior to and not touching clypeal
margin; ocelli absent (sometimes one median ocellus in largest
workers); metatibia with a large distinct apicoventral spur, with a
coarse seta on each side; anterior face of gaster without distinct
concavity.
Tapinolepis - mandible with 5
teeth, when closed mostly concealed by clypeus; dorsum of head behind
clypeus without erect stout setae; eyes set variably around midlength
of head but anterior arc of torus around eyes touching and slightly
indenting clypeal margin; three ocelli distinct; metatibia with a
divergent pair of large coarse setae on each side, no median spur;
anterior face of gaster with distinct cavity, into which the petiole
fits when alitrunk and gaster in horizontal alignment.
Link to Tapinolepis page.
The genus was originally described as a subgenus of Plagiolepis by Santschi (1914b: 123), raised to genus by Emery (1925b: 16), it appears as a full genus in Bolton (1994, 1995), but was not separated in Bolton (1973a). Most were originally placed in Formica or Plagiolepis.
The original separation of Anoplolepis as
a subgenus of Plagiolepis (Santschi 1914b) appears
to be a main ground of having the metanotum indistinctly defined or
obsolete (Arnold, 1922: 578-93). This feature was shared by two
subgenera -
Anoplolepis (Santschi,
1914b) with the meso-metanotal suture obsolete, the metanotum-propodeum
suture very feeble; dorsum of propodeum not very convex, not higher or
only slightly higher than the mesonotum; head hardly narrower in front
than behind; monomorphic, although in some, if not all species, some
workers are used as honey-storage vessels and have the abdomen grossly
distended.
Zealleyella Arnold (1922:
578-9) with the metanotum small, much smaller than the mesonotum, from
which it is feebly delimited; propodeum convex and higher than the
metanotum; large species often polymorphic.
Emery
(1925b) separated Tapinolepis as a new subgenus, with eyes
placed forward of the midline of the head; a single species from
Ethiopia. Santschi (1926a) clarified and
restated his definitions of the Genus and the subgenera Anoplolepis,
Zealleyella, Mesanoplolepis and Tapinolepis.
These are at ; together with a note on Mesanoplolepis
he added later (1930b - as to the subgenus having repletes but, unlike Zealleyella,
not different morphs in terms of head shape. All but one of the Mesanoplolepis
species are from eastern Africa, the odd one is from North Africa.
Bernard (1952) noted an unlabelled queen from Guinea (among the Mt. Nimba survey collection?), probably of the sub-genus Mesanoploplepis Santschi, of which queens were very poorly known. Bolton (1995) listed five species regarded as of this subgenus, all except Anoploplepis simulans (type location Tunisia) have type locations in southern Africa. Also it is only simulans of which the workers, males and queens are known. The South African species trimenii is known by workers and queens.
Typically, as in others of his generic revisions, Bolton synonymises subgenera and then creates species-groups, in this instance, under Anoplolepis, he wrote of the gracilipes group (being monomorphic) and the custodiens group (polymorphic).
Provisional key to workers from all Africa (based primarily on historical sources)
1 | ![]() |
Anoplolepis subgenus Zealleyella - 2 |
-- | ![]() |
Anoplolepis subgenus Anoplolepis - 4 |
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Anoplolepis subgenus Zealleyella | - |
¤ | ![]() |
South Africa - nuptialis |
¤ | ![]() |
Central African Republic - samori new species |
2 | ![]() |
. |
. | ![]() |
Eastern & southern Africa - custodiens |
-- | Without a distinctively patterned covering of silky pubescence | 3 |
3 | ![]() |
South Africa - vestita |
-- | General colour orange-brown | 3 |
-- | ![]() |
South Africa - fallax |
-- | ![]() |
South Africa - parsonsi |
-- | ![]() |
Southern Africa - steingroeveri |
-- | ![]() |
South Africa - rufescens |
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Anoplolepis subgenus Anoplolepis | - |
¤ | Queen only known; TL 9 mm, HW = HL
1.7; alirunk dorsum with longer and more abundant erect hairs than P. custodiens - images on species
page |
Gabon - opaciventris |
4 | ![]() |
. |
. | ![]() |
Only Zanzibar in Africa - gracilipes |
-- | Generally stockier without obvious elongation | 5 |
5 | ![]() |
. |
. | ![]() |
West Africa & Congo Basin - tenella |
-- | ![]() |
West Africa & Congo Basin - carinata |
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Subfamily Formicinae |
©
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017 - Brian Taylor CBiol FRSB FRES 11, Grazingfield, Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7FN, U.K. |
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