Plectroctena subterranea Arnold

Type location Zimbabwe (Plectroctena subterranea n. sp., Arnold, 1915: 84, illustrated, worker & queen) Bulawayo, G Arnold
junior synonym punctatus (Plectroctena punctatus n. sp., Santschi, 1924a: 170, male) from Kenya, Bura, iii.1912, Alluaud & Jeannel - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0915293
all forms described (see Bolton, 1995) .

Arnold's (1915) description is at and . Santschi's (1924a) description of punctatus is at Bolton's modern description (1974b) is at .

WORKER - small, TL 7.6-10.8 mm, funicular segments 3-5 broader than long. Labial palp with 2 segments. Head without striae. Colour red-brown (Bolton, 1974b: 333, not illustrated).

Two specimens which Bolton felt were of this species, but somewhat smaller (TL 5.6 and 6.7) were collected in Ivory Coast, at Lamto, Toumodi (J. Lévieux). Otherwise it is known from Malawi and Zimbabwe (Bolton, 1974b). In their key, Bolton & Brown (2002) list only east and southern African countries.

See also the Bernard (1952) report on "punctua") of a male specimen from Guinea possibly of this species.

The photomontage of the holotype is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0102946.