Polyrhachis esarata Bolton
  Type location Ghana
(Bolton, 1973b: 303, illustrated, full body dorsal view, alitrunk and
pedicel profile, anterior petiole); holotype worker only known,
collected by pkd at Bunso, by D. Leston, 7.vii.1969 (Bolton, 1973b) - see below  .
|
 Bolton's description (1973b)
is at 
WORKER - TL 7.2 mm; erect hairs present on the anterior
clypeal margin and the gastral apex, plus the single pair on the dorsum
of the head. Pubescence dense on alitrunk, with a pale brassy tint on
the dorsum. Sculpturation everywhere of a fine dense reticulation.
Colour black, legs, especially tibiae, very dark brown-black; palpi and
antennal apex yellow-brown.
Rigato (2016) added: Polyrhachis esarata was described from a single worker. I consider as conspecific with it one worker and one
gyne from Dem. Rep. of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea, respectively.
The worker is a little larger than the holotype and lacks the
distinctive couple of hairs on the head dorsum, but the corresponding
hair pits are present. Also, the eyes are only moderately convex and
not strongly protruding as in the type.
Worker. HL 1.65, HW 1.30, CI 79, SL 2.13, SI 164, FW 0.38, FI 29, PW 1.08, WL 2.27, HTL 2.19.
Gyne. HL 1.72, HW 1.40, CI 81, SL 2.08, SI 149, FW 0.42, FI 30, ScW 1.57, MnL 1.97, WL 2.87, HTL 2.34.
Material examined. EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Bioko, Moka, 3°21’36”N 8°39’49”E,
1300 m, 1–11.x.1998, at lights (D. Ubick, D.K. Dabney, R.C. Drewes,
J.V. Vindum, L. Henwood, R.W. Tomos, M. Boko, M.P. Ndung) (1 g, CAS).
DEM. REP. of the CONGO: 56 km N Matadi, 28.vii.1957 (E.S. Ross &
R.E. Leech) (1 w, CAS).
|
The
photomontage of the holotype worker is collated from