Nesomyrmex cataulacoides (Snelling)

Type location Cameroun (Leptothorax cataulacoides, Snelling, 1992: 99, illustrated full profile, alitrunk and gaster dorsum, and full face, worker)
genus name change by Bolton (2003: 249) .

Snelling's (1992a) description is at .

WORKER - TL 1.73-1.85 mm; distinguished by the 11-segmented antennae, with SL<100; front and side of head opaque, densely and minutely shagreened; similar sculpturation on promesonotal dorsum; petiole without a noticeable anterior peduncle, and a long spine on each side; postpetiole with a much thicker spine on each side; gaster shiny and smooth; colour not given.

Collected from Big Ngwandi, Rumpi Hills, Southwest Province (14-15.xi.1989, D. McKey); holotype worker and 16 paratypes collected from the internodes of a myrmecophyte plant, Leonardoxa africana (Snelling, 1992). Spelling catalaucoides amended by Bolton (1995) to above, as derived from the genus Cataulacus (mis-spelt by Snelling as Catalaucus) because Snelling saw some similarity in the possession of sharp pronotal angles, petiolar spines and pronounced subpetiolar process.

The photomontage is of a paratype specimen, collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=CASENT0172593. 

The photomontage is one of two specimens from Kenya, labelled as cataulacoides, collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=CASENT0178300. On the face of it the diagnosis seems highly unlikely as the type was described as found only in the internodes of a myrmecophyte that is unknown outside a narrow area of Cameroun; the specimen shown on the list is a Cameroun paratype but Antweb also has two specimens from Kenya collected by Snelling, one is shown here.  These differ somewhat from the Cameroun type, notably having a relatively longer head, shorter scapes, possibly smaller eyes, and generally much sharper coarse puncturation on the head. 

HL 0.57 HW 0.53 CI 93 SL 0.39 SI 74 OI 0.20