Monomorium hercules Viehmeyer
Type location Sudan (Monomorium
(Xeromyrmex) salomonis hercules n. sbsp., Viehmeyer, 1923:
91, illustrated, worker; raised to species by Santschi, 1936a: 39) El
Obeid, Bara, 5.iii.1914, F Werner
worker only described (see Bolton,
1995) .
Extra-limital to Bolton (1987).
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Viehmeyer's (1923)
description is at
WORKER - TL 3.1-3.6 mm, described by Viehmeyer (1923) as
polymorphic.
WORKER (based on fresh specimens, below) - anterior clypeal margin with a weakly arcuate
impression; clypeus with ill-defined carinae; eyes large with ca 14
facets in the longest rows' propodeum without a longitudinal groove or
impression, propodeum dorsum ca 1.45 X longer than the declivity;
petiole with quite a short pedicel but in profile the node
as high as the level of the propodeum dorsum and quite narrow;
postpetiole wider than petiole, from above with an approximately
triangular shape the posterior margin quite sharply defined; almost
completely lacking in erect hairs except on clypeus, pedicel segments
and apex of gaster, sculpturation reduced to almost nil on the head and
alitrunk, head with distinctive small hair pits, gaster weakly shiny;
colour near uniform yellow brown but
head and, more so, the gaster darker; antennae brown.
TL ca 3.8 mm; HL 1.02, HW 0.84, CI 89, SL 0.79, SI 84, PW 0.5
The large eyes (0.29 X HW, with 13-14
ommatidia in the longest row) set it near Monomorium salomonis and Monomorium areniphilum. Both of
those are generally much darker; the postpetiole from above in salomonis is evenly ovoid and very
slightly narrower than the petiole. The petiole node is much higher
than in areniphilum. Monomorium ilgii
from Ethiopia has a similar colour; Bolton (1987) gave it as having
large eyes, 0.33 X HW but recorded only 9-11 ommatidia in the longest
row (the head being much smaller overall; it also has numerous standing
hairs of the first tergite of the gaster.
This has smaller eys than salomonis, has a lighter colour and much finer sculpturation.
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