The Ants of
Africa SUBFAMILY MYRMICINAE - Genus Myrmicaria - key to workers |
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Contents - Myrmicinae - Genus Myrmicaria Introduction |
The following key to the Myrmicaria of Africa is translated
and quite extensively adapted by me from that of Santschi (1925c: 133),
plus later described species. The latter includes my separation of congolensis
to full species and removal of it and its subspecies from opaciventris.
Santschi's key was described by Bolton (1995) as "out of date" but
there is no more modern revision of the Genus. Using Santschi's and
other illustrations, I have also designed the key to be both textual
and visual.
I have not taken the separations beyond the level of species, i.e. I
have not included Santschi's separations of "subspecies". Where
appropriate, I have noted the variations in the main species sections.
-- | Male only known (description unavailable) | Ethiopia - tigreensis |
1 | TL 3.3-4.3 mm. Funiculus segments slender except for the last which is a distinct large club. Petiole node much longer than wide. Thoracic rugae mostly longitudinal, medially commonly faint. Lower angles of pronotum (mesokatepisternal tooth) rounded. | West Africa & Congo Basin (arboreal) - exigua |
-- | Otherwise and with a three-segmented antennal club. | 2 |
2 | Pedicel with nodes which are longer than they are high | 3 |
-- | Pedicel with nodes which are higher than they are long | 4 |
2 | Pedicel with nodes which are longer than they are high | 3 |
3 | Brown-black; TL 5.5 mm; petiole node longer than high or wide; node rounded and compressed; TL 5.5 mm; | South Africa - nigra |
-- | TL 6.0-6.5 mm; dull (dirty) ferruginous; antennae, pedicel and gaster fuscous, subopaque; general body form like eumenoides; postpetiole with distinct ventral angular anterior process; clypeus carinate; scapes striated; head and alitrunk longitudinally rugose, vertex of head weakly subreticulate; lateral pedicel finely rugose; postpetiole and basal gaster subtly punctate, so that the latter appears matt; mostly nitidous | widespread in wooded areas - opaciventris |
. | Pedicel with nodes which are higher than they are long | . |
4 | Pronotum with little sculpturation restricted to transverse rugae and with no median longitudinal ruga | 5 |
-- | Pronotum with at least a median longitudinal ruga | 6 |
5 | TL 5.2 mm; brownish-black with sparse
whitish pilosity; pronotum dorsum with only partial
transverse rugae and straight anterior margin; petiole with high node
(no photos) |
South Africa (high montane) - anomala |
-- | TL 3.9-4.2 mm; yellow brown; erect pilosity yellowish; petiole node wider than long; antennal segments very short | South Africa - laevior |
. | Pronotum with at least a median longitudinal ruga | . |
6 | TL 6.5-8.2 mm; postpetiole lower than petiole; red-brown; without a
promesonotal suture; (no photos) |
Zimbabwe - arnoldi |
-- | Postpetiole at least as high as the petiole | 7 |
7 | Petiole profile near square with distinct vertical anterior and posterior faces plus a clearly separate dorsal face | 8 |
-- | Petiole profile with distinctly sloping anterior and posterior faces plus a variably separate usually domed dorsal face | 9 |
8 | TL 4.3 mm; central area of head and
pronotum polished apart from the median carinae; clypeus without a
median carina; yellow brown |
Zaire - fusca |
-- | TL 7.5-8.0 mm; dorsum of propodeum with a strong transverse ridge; dark brown, head and gaster brown black | East Africa - rustica |
-- | TL 4.3-5.5 mm; central area of head and pronotum polished apart from the median carinae; clypeus without a median carina; brown or darker | East Africa -
consanguinea |
-- | TL (max) 7.5-8.5 mm;
relatively pale scapes with almost no longitudinal striae; the
longitudinal striae on the promesonotum reaching right to the anterior;
the fine but clear spiculate sculpture on the base of the
gasterorange-brown,
gaster and frons darker |
West Africa & Congo Basin -
taeniata |
. | Petiole profile with distinctly sloping anterior and posterior face plus a variably separate usually domed dorsal face | . |
9 | Segment 3 of the funiculus not or little longer than segment 2 | 10 |
-- | Segment 2 of the funiculus longer than segment 3 | 11 |
10 | TL 5-0-6.8 mm;
alitrunk with
erect hairs short and sparse; propodeum with few or only a pair of
erect hairs; reddish
yellow, with tarsi and gaster brown; striations on front of
head distinctly arcuate; clypeus longitudinally carinate and mandibles
striate; dorsum of pronotum with narrowly spaced fine longitudinal
striation; base of gaster slightly dull due to microspiculation |
East Africa - distincta |
-- | TL
ca 8.0 mm; alitrunk
with abundant long erect hairs; propodeum with several erect hairs;
striations
on front of head straight, clypeus and mandibles near smooth; dorsum of
pronotum with relatively few, widely spaced coarse longitudinal
striations; seen from
above propodeal spines with only a small distance between the bases;
pedicel of petiole uniquely short, no longer than the node, and
relatively thick, with distinct longitudinal striations; base of gaster
wholly smooth and shiny |
new species Senegal |
-- | TL 5-0-6.8 mm;
alitrunk with
no obvious erect hairs red-brown parts darker, |
Ethiopia - abyssinica |
. | Segment 2 of the funiculus longer than segment 3 | . |
11 | TL 4.5-5.5 mm; funiculus segment 3 twice as long as wide; thick-set; blackish brown with upper head black, pedicel and base of gaster mid-brown, rest of gaster yellowish brown | South Africa - foreli |
-- | Funiculus segment 3 more than twice as long as wide; generally larger | 12 |
12 | TL 6-7 mm; ventral surface of petiole with two fine spines (not present on cotypes); clypeus without a median carina; reddish brown; gaster brownish yellow; legs, including the coxae and lower pleurae, darker than the thorax, mandibular teeth and antennae blackish | . |
. | Zaïre & Senegal - salambo | |
-- | Ventral surface of petiole without spines | 13 |
13 | Mesokatepisternal
tooth (from base to apex) as long as the height of the pronotum, readily visible in dorsal view |
14 |
-- | Mesokatepisternal tooth less prominent | 15 |
14 | TL 7.5-8 mm; dark brown to blackish; front of head with several longitudinal striations | Tanzania; Katanga,
Zaïre - striata |
-- | TL 5.5-6.0 mm; erect hairs black; front of head smooth apart from a median longitudinal carina |
Zimbabwe & Mozambique - pilosa |
15 | With abundant but very short
erect hairs; head longitudinally striate without cross-meshes; petiole
node conical, anterior face very oblique; TL 6.5-7.0 mm (no photos of worker) |
Sâo Tomé I - striata
in part, ssp insularis |
-- | Otherwise; from mainland Africa | 16 |
16 | Anterior face of petiole node more vertical than posterior, with the superior angle more acute than the anterior (basal) angle | 17 |
-- | Petiole profile conical and more symmetric | 18 |
17 | TL 6-6.5 mm; pronotum
dorsum with all rugae straight and longitudinal,
median very elevated; pronotum with concave basal face; yellow-brown; |
. |
. | Tanzania - reichenspergeri | |
-- | TL 5.5-7.0 mm; pronotum dorsum with rugae arched or transverse anterior to the anastamose cup of pronotum; gaster smooth and shiny; bright ferruginous, antennae, legs and gaster much darker | . |
. | widespread East & Southern Africa savannah species - natalensis | |
18 | TL 5.5-6.0 mm; colour dark red-brown, gaster black and wholly shiny; both
petiole and postpetiole nodes higher than long and in profile about
equal; dorsum of propodeum fairly concave forward; central area of head
largely smooth and shiny each side of the median ruga |
. |
. | Tanzania, possibly only Kilimanjaro area; Congo Basin (?) - striatula | |
-- | Otherwise (e.g. fumata linearis) | 19 |
19 | Pronotum rugae all parallel | 20 |
-- | Pronotum rugae arched, transverse before meeting the median ruga at a right angle (example congolensis) | 23 |
. | Pronotum rugae parallel | . |
20 | TL 6.5-6.7 mm; propodeal
spines unusually long and downcurved; colour black, shiny; |
South Africa - faurei |
-- | Propodeal spines more typical; pronotum with fainter and sparser rugae | 20 |
20 | TL 5.6-6.0 mm; pronotum dorsum with only 5
longitudinal rugae; colour pitch black and shiny |
Lesotho - basutorum |
-- | Pronotum dorsum with more than five longitudinal rugae | 21 |
21 | TL
6.8-8.8 mm; pronotum dorsum
with seven thin rugae; colour black |
Zimbabwe - rhodesiae |
-- | TL 5.6 mm; linearis up to 7.5 mm; pronotum dorsum with nine rugae; more or less reticulated and meshed with the longitudinal rugae best developed; dark brown red; shiny | West Africa and Zaïre - fumata |
. | Pronotum rugae arched, transverse before meeting the median ruga at a right angle | . |
24 | Propodeum
profile with sharp rise from metanotal groove and a transverse ridge or
sill; TL 7.7-9.5 mm; occipitum and face densely reticulate; dark
red-brown, gaster dark brown, smooth and shiny |
25 |
-- | Dorsum of propodeum flat, raised behind the metanotal groove but without a transverse ridge or sill; TL 5.5-7.0 mm | 26 |
25 | TL
7.7-9.5 mm; propodeum
profile with sharp rise from metanotal groove and a transverse ridge or
sill; prodeum dorsum weakly concave and longitudinally striate; head
wider than long; occipitum and face densely reticulate;
dark
red-brown, gaster dark brown, smooth and shiny |
Angola & Cameroun - baumi |
-- | TL 5.5-7.0 mm; dorsum of propodeum concave and smooth;
head longer than
wide, pedicel nodes weakly striate |
West Africa - occidentalis |
26 | TL 5.5-7 mm; frons with only one fine stration each side of the median line; dorsum of propodeum smooth; gaster hardly sculpted anteriorly, often darker; bright ferruginous, antennae and legs, sometimes gaster, much darker | Zaïre, Angola & Mozambique - irregularis |
-- | TL 5.5-7.7 mm; dorsum of
promesonotum with densely packed fine longitudinal striations;
propodeum
longitudinally rugose; gaster largely matt; red-brown; gaster always
dull; |
Whole of western Africa - congolensis |
-- | TL 5.5-6.5 mm; dorsum of promesonotum with sparse fine longitudinal striations; postpetiole with narrow profile; head with fine, purely longitudinal striations on the front; general appearance shiny | Cameroun - nitida |
MYRMICINAE Introduction |
© 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 - Brian
Taylor
CBiol
FRSB FRES 11, Grazingfield, Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7FN, U.K. |
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