Paratrechina lepida (Santschi)

Type location Cameroun (Prenolepis (Nylanderia) lepida n. sp., Santschi, 1915c: 262, illustrated, worker) collected at Victoria, by Reichensperger; worker only described (see Bolton, 1995) .

Santschi's (1915c) description is at .

Santschi's (1915c) description was -
WORKER - TL 1.9-2.0 mm; head oval, rounded posteriorly. Eyes before the midline. Clypeus very convex, almost conical, anterior border slightly scalloped medially. Mandibles with 5-6 teeth. Scape surpassing occiput by almost half its length; First segment of funiculus three times as long as the following segments (the shortest). Alitrunk profile slightly convex, more so than longicornis. Pronotum as long as anterior width. Mesonotum rounded laterally, as long as wide. Metanotum much shorter than preceding segment, but almost as wide, with spiracles almost contiguous dorsally. Propodeum very convex, regularly rounded and raised dorsally above the level of the mesonotum. Petiole scale with rounded summit, narrowed basally and somewhat inclined.
Colour black with hint of brown; edges of mandibles and funiculus testaceous red; palps, femora on mid and hind legs, trochanters, joints and tarsi whitish; remainder of appendages brownish. Smooth and shiny; dorsum of head and mesonotum feebly reticulate. Erect pilosity brown, quite abundant and sharp; 4 pairs of macrochaetae on promesonotum. Pubescence translucent.
Holotype worker only from Cameroun, Victoria, by Dr Reichensperger.

TL ca 2.0-2.4 mm, illustration of posterior alitrunk (from Bernard, 1952; note the labelling seems to be to have been wrong and I have changed it to what I feel is correct). Some characteristics were discussed by Bernard (1952) under Paratrechina arlesi.

The photomontage of the type worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0912305

Note LaPolla, Hawkes & Fisher (2011) argue for the synonymy of Paratrechina grisoni under P. lepida but this seems wrong.  The specimen from Gabon that they illustrate as lepida (at http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0179591) is one that I regard as a grisoni.  They do not provide a photograph of the type lepida despite stating they had examined it. Their description matchs the Forel description of grisoni but differs from the Santschi description of lepida. A pointer may be that Bolton, who identified the ants in Belshaw & Bolton (1994b) separated four species, one very widespread and common (794 workers from 12 sites), one quite common (48 workers from 5 sites). A very distinctive feature of grisoni, shown by all the specimens I have and that I drew in Nigeria, is the mesonotum profile, with a pronounced raised transverse welt; also the very shiny  and the narrowness at the junction with the pronotum. LaPolla et al report and describe a queen and a male for the species, although neither have been described by earlier authors they provide no information to support the association of the sexuals with the workers.

Oxford University Museum specimens

Paratrechina lepida B Taylor det.	Liberia E Poirier Liabala PF 4	2.iv.2013 Nimba County 07°31’06" N 08°35’34" E	Pitfall trap Secondary forest 473 m asl	1
Paratrechina lepida B Taylor det.	Liberia E Poirier Liabala PF 5	2.iv.2013 Nimba County 07°31’06" N 08°35’34" E	Pitfall trap Secondary forest 473 m asl	1

The photomontage is of a worker from Liberia, Liabala; collector E Poiriet (Liabala PF V).

The photomontage is of a worker from Liberia, Liabala; collector E Poiriet (Liabala PF IV).

Photomontage of a supposed lepida queen from Central African Republic; collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0086444