Crematogaster (Oxygyne) margaritae Emery

Type location Congo (Crematogaster Margaritae n. sp., Emery, 1895h: 31, queen - see below; Mayr, 1896: 243, worker & male) collected at Kuilu
subspecies
cupida (Cremastogaster (Oxygyne) margaritae Emery stirps cupida n. st., Santschi, 1935a: 261, illustrated, worker) from Zaïre, Luebo-Macaco, 27.ix. 1921, Dr Schouteden - see below
(see Bolton, 1995); all forms described .

Note: With a fresh specimen from the Central African Republic, I have raised Crematogaster (Oxygyne) brevarmata (Cremastogaster Santschii For. v. brevarmata n. var., Forel, 1915c: 337, worker & male; Santschi, 1930a: 65, queen) from Zaïre, collected at Kondué, by Luja, to full species status.  Not only does brevarmata have a flatter profile to the alitrunk, with shorter propodeal teeth, but it is larger, TL 2.9-3.4, and has a shorter scape.

Emery's (1895h) description is at . Mayr's (1896) description of the worker & male is at and . Forel's (1913b) description of lujae is at . Santschi (1910c) in a discussion of Cr. depressa and Cr. julienni, gave an illustration of the mandible of Cr. margaritae (left). Forel's (1915c) description of brevarmata is at . Santschi's (1935a) illustrated consideration with cupida is at .

Wheeler (1922) listed the type form from Cameroun (Sjöstedt). Santschi (1935a: 260 & 261) has the drawings (right) of brevarmata and cupida, specimens from Mongende and Kasai Kondue, Zaïre (which he spells as breviarmata, Wheeler had brevarmata and cupida.

WORKER (Nigeria specimens, Crematogaster sp 5 in Taylor, 1979: 41) TL 3.11 mm, HL 0.70, HW 0.68, SL 0.56, PW 0.40
Colour very dark red-brown, antennal funiculi yellow brown. Highly polished appearance with little or no sculpturation. Pilosity short and sparse, erect hairs only on apices of clypeus and gaster. Head near ovoid in frontal view. Alitrunk profile very convex, mesonotum slightly humped, no metanotal groove. Dorsal propodeum curved, spines straight narrow, acute and upwardly directed. Postpetiole flattened in profile, trapezoidal in front view, lower edge with acute lateral angles, upper edge slightly rounded and medially impressed. First gastral tergite with rounded acute anterolateral corners.

CRIN museum had two specimens from Nigeria, collected at CRIN (B. Bolton), and noted as commensal with Crematogaster gambiensis on a tree.

Queen

The photomontage of the holotype queen is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0904486.

Worker

The photomontage of the cupida type worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0912786.

Oxford University Museum specimens

Crematogaster (Oxygyne) margaritae B Taylor det.	Cameroun G Debout & A Dalecky Cameroon 66	18.iv.2001 BOU 3°13.31' N 10°15.01' E	on a domatia bearing and lianescent Rubiaceae	2
Crematogaster (Oxygyne) margaritae B Taylor det.	Central African Republic P Annoyer Di-15	20.i.2005 Dzanga-Sangha 03°55’13.2" N 16°36’46.1" E	536m; U.V : 2h-6h, après Sefka (entre Bambio et croisement Nola/Berberati), dans layon forestier; from on a reduviid bug; collected in forest, 1st hour of the morning head only found	1
Crematogaster (Oxygyne) margaritae B Taylor det. Queen	Central African Republic P Annoyer FG	09.ii.2005 Dzanga-Sangha 02°50'03.0" N 16°08'11.2" E	375 m; Camp 3; 18h30-6h30; Sur plate-forme à 35 m du sol dans un Terminalia (Terminalia superba, Combretaceae)	1
Crematogaster (Oxygyne) margaritae B Taylor det. Queen	Central African Republic P Annoyer LS	15.xi.2010 Dzanga-Sangha 2°27'11.6"N 16°04'58.7"E	343 m; jour, à vue derrière le village, Molongo, strate arbustive (Casside land)	2

Santschi (1935) described cupida as follows (my translation) - (comparison with brevarmata)
TL 2.8 mm. Shiny, head and gaster black; often the rest of the body and appendages black brown; ends of mandibles, funiculi and tarsi rust or brownish red. Genae of head longitudinally striated up to the eyes; Clypeus, area of promesonotum suture, sides of alitrunk, part of petiole feebly shagreened and less shiny; gaster more or less wholly shagreened and dull; pubescence very short, spaced out on the gaster and appendages and rare elsewhere. Head slightly longer than wide, feebly impressed rearwards, the posterior border feebly convex and the angles very rounded; occipitum slightly concave; eyes slightly behind the midpoint of the sides and just under a quarter the length of the head. Anterior clypeal border slightly impressed, less than brevarmata. Scape reaching about the vertex. Mandibles straight, smooth and shiny. Second segment of the funiculus slightly longer than wide, 3-6 equally wide as long, Promesonotum profile more convex, metanotal groove more deeply impressed; propodeum dorsum shorter and more convex in profile, spines as short but space between bases slightly larger. Dorsum of petiole near as wide as long, trapezoidal, sides arced but more convergent posteriorly. Postpetiole less impressed medially now longer than petiole.

Cameroun - south-western tropical coastal forest area between Edéa and Campo (McKey Wolbachia project) - Cameroon 66 from location BOU (Bondé - river near N'kolobondé at 3°13.31' N 10°15.01'; flat land, between the Chapel and the river), 18 April 2001, on a domatia bearing and lianescent Rubiaceae.

The specimens are almost unsculptured and highly polished, some very faint striations on anterior of face and minute puncturation. Dark brown except for mandibles and antennal funiculi, notably the clubs which are lighter orange-brown. Scattered decumbent pilosity; only erect hairs on anterior margin of clypeus, a pair on the postpetiole and, a number on the ventral gaster. In full face view, head near square, narrowed slightly forward and the vertex moderately impressed. In profile head globular, with clypeus raised slightly. Condylar bulbs exposed, as frontal carinae no more than lateral margin of the clypeus. Eyes quite small with midline forward of midline of face; set right on the sides of the head and only slightly convex. Pronotum dorsally concave; the anterior corners angular with a sharp transition from the dorsal to lateral pronotum. Promesonotal suture visible as a distinct impression; mesonotum with raised broad carina. Propodeum sloping downwards from distinct metanotal groove; spines short pointing upwards and outward; spiracle protruding and set into the base of the spines. Petiole relatively long and without a subpetiolar process.

This may be a misidentification ? = striatula?

The photomontage is of the head (only part found) of a worker from the Central African Republic, Dzanga-Sangha National Park; collector Philippe Annoyer (CAR DN).

Queen

The photomontage of the queen listed by Santschi (1910c) is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0193638. The dimensions and other features match the two queens shown below.

The photomontage is of a queen from the Central African Republic, Dzanga-Sangha National Park; collector Philippe Annoyer (CAR LS)..

The photomontage is of a damaged queen from the Central African Republic, Dzanga-Sangha National Park; collector Philippe Annoyer (CAR FG 1).