Aenictus decolor (Mayr)
Type location East Africa (perhaps an error) (Typhlatta
decolor, Mayr, 1879: 668 in key; worker only); junior synonyms
batesi (Forel, 1911e: 255, worker) from Nigeria,
collected at Old Calabar by Bates; and bidentatus
(Donisthorpe, 1942e: 701, worker) from Ghana; workers and
queen described (see Bolton, 1995). Reviewed by Gotwald &
Leroux (1980: 600, illustrated, queen & worker) from Ivory
Coast  .
Mayr's (1879) description is at
 .
Donisthorpe's (1942) description of bidentatus is at
 .
From Forel's (1911e) description of batesi
 ,
given the size, reference to eugenii (the shape of the
pedicel segments being like the illustration, from Bernard, 1953),
and the colour (brown with yellowish legs), it seems that this is
what I portrayed as species 2 (below); this is supported also by
Donisthorpe's description of bidentatus. The Gotwald &
Leroux paper (1980) is at
 .
Arnold (1915: 143) quoted Mayr (1878), in translation?, - TL 3.3
mm; head smooth and without frontal sulcus. The very short
declivity is separated from the dorsum of the propodeum by a sharp
semicircular ridge. All the funiculus joints at least a little
longer than wide. The mandibles longitudinally striate, smooth
near the masticatory margin. The sides of the alitrunk
longitudinally rugose. Rusty red; antennae, gaster and legs
yellow. |
Aenictus species 2
TL 3.27 mm, HL 0.62, HW 0.61, SL 0.47, PW 0.42
Colour dark orange-brown, legs and gaster more yellow; very
shiny and polished with a translucent cuticle. Sculpturation of
the anterior, pronotum and lateral areas of the pedicel of very
fine transverse striations; lateral mesonotum and propodeum are
fairly strongly rugoreticulate, with rugae dominating. Erect hairs
long, relatively coarse and abundant. Anterior clypeal margin
produced medially to form a single tooth. Mandibles very darkly
coloured with a large digitiform basal tooth, a large apical tooth
and a moderately large intermediate tooth, the apices overlap when
mandibles closed. Propodeum marginate, with a concave profile to
the declivity. Petiole domed, subpetiolar process well developed
and rectangular, subpostpetiolar process is blunt triangular.
In Nigeria, I collected it on a path and from a plot of
cashew. |
