The Ants of
Africa Genus Camponotus subgenus Myrmosaga |
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Genus Camponotus |
Subgenus Myrmosaga Forel (1912i: 92) - simply reads (my translation) "propodeum as a saddle"
Subgenus definition -
dorsum of propodeum concave, rest of
alitrunk convex not margined; smallish, most shining; rather like Tanaemyrmex
but more robust; clypeus carinate with short anterior lobe, mandibles
usually with six teeth;
Apparently also with the scapes and legs cylindrical; petiole scale
varied from squamose to low and nodiform.
Bolton (1995: 131) has three species from eastern & southern Africa. There is an odd situation, however, as the type species was designated by Forel as Camponotus kelleri Forel (1886f: 186) from Madagascar, but that was placed in subgenus Mayria by Emery (1925b: 123). The only two other species placed in Myrmosaga now are both from Australia (aflatus and ezotus). Bolton (1995: 38) noted "provisional junior synonym of Camponotus, Brown (1973b: 182), unconfirmed".
Prins (1973) noted that his placement of namacolus and sellidorsatus in Mayria was provisional and, having sighted the species of C. (Mayria) from Madagascar, I have transferred the four species listed in that subgenus by Bolton (1995: 131) to here - Camponotus (Myrmosaga) dewitzii Forel - Angola, Camponotus (Myrmosaga) namacolus Prins - Namibia, Camponotus (Myrmosaga) schoutedeni Forel - Cameroun, Congo Basin, Angola, East Africa and Camponotus (Myrmosaga) sellidorsatus Prins - Namibia. I include one Madagascar species transferred from Mayria for comparative purposes - Camponotus (Myrmosaga) quadrimaculatus Forel.
Key to species
1 | Petiole scale-like with a narrow profile | 2 |
-- | Petiole a low node with vertical faces and a rounded dorsum | 4 |
2 | General colour brown and rusty-red; minor only known - TL 4.3 mm; pilosity fine long and yellowish, most abundant on head and gaster; coxae yellow, ventral gaster & legs reddish yellow | Zimbabwe - favorabilis |
-- | General colour black | 3 |
3 | Major TL 8.5 mm; matt
black, base of scapes, genae, tibia
& tarsi reddish, gaster segments feebly bordered with yellow Minor TL 4.8 mm; head slightly convex posteriorly, slightly longer than wide, sides weakly convex; scape surpasses occiput by more than one-third its own length |
. |
. | Major | . |
. | Minor | Kenya & Tanzania - jeanneli |
-- | Major TL 5.6 mm;
pronotum transversely flat; fairly shiny
black, clypeus & mandibles dark reddish-brown, tarsi & funiculi
reddish, scapes brown Minor TL ca 3.5 mm; head quite strongly convex posteriorly, slightly longer than wide, sides weakly convex; scape surpasses occiput by more than one-third its own length |
Kenya & Tanzania - mombassae |
-- | Petiole a low node with vertical faces and a rounded dorsum | -- |
4 | Minor only known - TL
5.0-5.17 mm; pale brick-red to
brownish all over - probable junior synonym of callmorphus |
Namibia - namacolus |
. | Minor only known - TL 4.0-4.5 mm; clypeus with sharply defined medina carina; scape surpassing occiput by about 2/3 its own length; pronotum with sharp margins; with quite numerous long white erect hairs; very shiny black; mandibles and antennae orange-brown | Namibia & Gabon - callmorphus |
-- | Predominantly dark brown to black | 5 |
5 | Minor only known - TL 7.1 mm; clypeus convex but only very feebly carinate; head and alitrunk densely reticulo-punctate & matt; black but gaster bronzy | Angola - dewitzii |
-- | minor TL < 5.5 mm | 6 |
6 | Minor only known - TL 5.0-5.4 mm; finely sculptured and moderately shiny; brownish-black; antennae, tarsi and mandibles more brownish, petiole peduncle and apical margins of gaster paler or testaceous all over | Namibia - sellidorsatus |
-- | Minor TL maximum 4.5 mm | 7 |
7 | Major - TL 6.5 mm;
mandibles with six teeth; clypeus with distinct
but not sharply defined median carina; scape surpassing the occiput by
less than half its length; pronotum with rounded margins; with only
sparse and quite short erect hairs Both almost completely shiny dark brown, mandibles and antennae testaceous; legs brown |
. |
. | Minor - TL 3.8-4 mm | Benin, Cameroun, Congo Basin, Angola, East Africa - schoutedeni |
Genus page |
© 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2017 - Brian Taylor CBiol
FRSB FRES 11, Grazingfield, Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7FN, U.K. |
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