Anoplolepis (Anoplolepis) carinata (Emery)

Type locality Cameroun (Plagiolepis carinata, Emery, 1899e: 491, worker & queen; in Anoplolepis, Emery, 1925b: 17) collected by Conradt; worker and queen described (see Bolton, 1995) .

Emery's (1899e) description is at . From Santschi's (1911c) description of tenella (see below), this is very like that species but has a shorter head.
Overall - TL 3.5-3.75 mm; head as long as wide, sides arcuate, and posterior angles strongly rounded, giving the head the shape of a rounded square; large eyes set posterior of the mid-point of the head; clypeus distinctly carinate, anterior border with a median obtuse angle. Petiole scale high but cuneiform, with a rounded dorsal profile. Apparently with much more numerous erect hairs than the other species; testaceous yellow, head and gaster slightly darker, appendages paler. Head and alitrunk matt due to dense microscopic puncturation; more superfical on the gaster.

Wheeler (1922) listed it also from Congo and Zaïre. Bequaert (in Wheeler, 1922) cites a description by the anthropologist, Tessmann, of how, in Cameroun, this "stinging ant" was used as part of an initiation ceremony by the Pangwe tribe. Nests of the ant were hung in low huts through which the initiates were forced to crawl. Also reported from Zaïre, Moto, Haut Uele, by L. Burgeon, in Santschi (1935).

The photomontage is collated and slightly enhanced from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0417133.
Collection details - Locality: Central African Republic: Prefecture Sangha-Mbaéré; Parc National Dzanga-Ndoki, 37.9 km 169° S Lidjombo; 02°22'14"N 016°10'21"E 360m Collection Information: Collection codes: BLF4130. Date: 20-28 May 2001. Collected by: B.L.Fisher. Method: EC19 sifted litter. Habitat: rainforest. Transect Type: MW 50 sample transect, 5m. Transect Sample No.: 26

The photomontage is of a specimen from the Central African Republic, Dzanga-Sangha NP,02°48’20.5" N 16°06’14.0" E 350m Camp 1; collector Philippe Annoyer; 25.01.2005.

Other images can be seen in the folder at -