Lepisiota palpalis (Santschi)

Type location Zaïre (Acantholepis palpalis n. sp., Santschi, 1935a: 276, illustrated, worker), Lundu, 20.x.1920, Dr Schouteden; holotype worker only .

Santschi's (1935a) description is on .

WORKER - TL 2-2.2 mm; colour brown black; gaster black; mandibles, basal three-quarters of scape, trochanters and tarsi yellow brown; rest of appendages medium brown. smooth and shiny; several strong longitudinal rugae on sides of meso-metanotum; finer and partly reticulate sculpture on lateral propodeum, metasternum and posterior peduncle of petiole. Erect pilosity, yellow, long and spaced on body; slightly oblique pubescence on appendages
Head oval, almost a third longer than wide; regularly rounded behind the eyes. Eyes convex, as much as one third of sides of face; in full face view, protruding beyond sides of face. Mandibles smooth. Clypeus very convex and strongly carinate anteriorly. Postclypeal notch short. Frontal carinae as long as the space between, divergent posteriorly. Scape more than one-thirds past the occipital border. Funiculus segment 1 twice as long as wide and as long as segments 2 & 3 together. Maxillary palps of remarkable length exceeding the head-thorax junction. Pronotum depressed, profile as with depressa Santschi (type location Kenya). Dorsum of mesonotum slightly higher than main alitrunk axis, smooth close to anterior suture, where there is a small tubercle with a long hair arising from it. Dorsum of propodeum also slightly raised; lateral borders forming a slightly divergent rim (as in ambigua, see above); tubercles slightly raised; also similarly sized tubercles on the metasternum. Petiole scale higher than length of posterior peduncle; summit narrowed, excavated and with two spines, as long as the interval between their bases.

Grouped with excisa Forel (type location unknown, not in Bolton, 1995, or Wheeler, 1922) and depressa by the pronotum form but those are much more strongly sculptured and matt; plus a more concave propodeum; the petiole scale of excisa has similar spines but that of depressa is without spines; the latter has elongated maxillary palps but not as long as in palpalis.

The photomontage of the type worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=rmcaent000017801

Oxford University Museum specimens

Lepisiota palpalis B Taylor det.	Sudan A Omer Sudan 20	2006 Kosti 13.2° N 32.7° E	western bank of River Nile, 280 km south of Khartoum	1
Lepisiota palpalis B Taylor det.	Sudan Z Mahmoud 2009-34	Ar Rugayba 11°38'22.35" N 34°20'40.01" E	Hand collected	1
Lepisiota palpalis B Taylor det.	Sudan J Mathews JM 154	25.x.2000 Abu Gmein, Blue Nile 11°21' N 34°27' E	pyrethrum fogging of Acacia senegal	1
Lepisiota palpalis B Taylor det.	Sudan J Mathews JM 174	25.xi.2001 Abu Gmein, Blue Nile 11°21' N 34°27' E	pyrethrum fogging of Acacia senegal	2

The photomontage is of a specimen from Sudan, collected by J Mathews, by pyrethrum fogging of Acacia senegal;  Abu Gmein, Blue Nile, 11°21' N 34°27' E; JM 154; 25.xi.2000, 1 worker.

Head subsquare, with weakly concave occiput; clypeus with quite a strong median carina/keel; eyes large (0.42 X length of side of head) ovoid but shallowly convex; petiole profile moderately narrowed but sharply tapered apically, bispinose; legs unusually long; abundant erect yellowish pilosity (ca 0.12 mm long); shiny but mesonotum and propodeum dull due to fine spiculation; dark brown
TL ca 2.9 mm, HL 0.70, HW 0.62, CI 91, SL 0.77, SI 127, PW 0.42
This form looks very close to the Santschi image and description but is bigger,

The photomontage is of a worker from Sudan, collected by J Mathews, by pyrethrum fogging of Acacia senegal; ;  Abu Gmein, Blue Nile, 11°21' N 34°27' E; JM 174; 25.xi.2000, 1 worker, 2 workers.

Small, long palps distinctive; head in full face view near circular; eyes large (0.43 x length of side of head); pronotum dorsally flattened; propodeum dorsum with a weak longitudinal septum; petiole bispinose; abundant fine erect yellow pilosity (on gaster ca 0.12 mm long); shiny unsculptured, except lateral mesonotum and propodeum which are very finely spiculate; chestnut to dark brown; antennae wholly yellow brown except for apical segments of funiculus
TL ca 2.5 mm, CI 80, SI 138
Abu Gmein, JM 174 1 tree (5) - rather more brown than others from Sudan.

The photomontage is of a specimen from Sudan, from Kosti, western bank of River Nile, 280 km south of Khartoum, collected by Awatif Omer, 2006, Sudan 20_01. NOTE - when viewed with head tilted slightly back and mandibles exposed the head shape is ovoid, in full face view the occiput is seen to be straight. The petiole clearly has the posteriorly curved spines shown in Santschi's drawing.

TL ca 2.2, HL 0.55, HW 0.48, CI 88, SL 0.61, SI 127, PW 0.32