Atopomyrmex mocquerysi André

Type location Senegal (André, 1889: 227, worker; André, 1895a: 3, queen; Forel, 1913b: 335, male), from Dakar, collector A. Mocquerys; junior synonyms arnoldi (Santschi, 1923e: 283, worker) and erigens (Santschi, 1924b: 205, worker) from Zaïre; australis (Santschi, 1914e: 16, worker) from South Africa, obscura (Santschi, 1923e: 283, worker) from Ivory Coast, at Jacqueville, by Lohier; and opaca (Santschi, 1923e: 283, worker) from Angola; plus unavailable name nigellus (originally used for strain opacus, Santschi, 1930b: 72, worker) from Angola (see Bolton, 1995) .

André's (1889) description is at . Forel's (1912b) description of the queen and male is at . Santschi's (1914e) description of australis is at . Arnold (1916: 190) gave a translation of of what he denoted as curvispina but as a variety of mocquerysi, which it clearly is (as was recognised by Santschi, 1925h, in a footnote to his key, see above for card, and re-designated as arnoldi) and notes, these are at and . Santschi's (1923e) descriptions of obscura, arnoldi and opaca are at . Santschi's (1924b) description of erigens is at . Santschi's (1925h) description of opacus (sic) is at . Bolton's (1981b) modern re-description is at .

WORKERS (Nigeria specimens) - TL 4.23-9.12 mm. Largest morph HL 2.15, HW 2.27, SL 1.18, PW 1.43
Colour very dark brown-black overall on smallest morph, but largest morph has an orange head, with the alitrunk darker and the remainder as for the smallest morph. Sculpturation of smallest morph mainly spiculate on the head and alitrunk, rugose on dorsum of alitrunk. Largest morph with coarse rugae on the anterior of the head and alitrunk, gaster very finely punctate. Propodeal spines of smallest morph are flat and acute; of largest morph massive and upturned. Petiole spines of smallest are short and acute; on largest morph moderately long and acute.

A pan-African species, very widely distributed in wooded and forested areas. Arboreal, nesting in wood of large trees. Forages in columns on to adjacent trees, including cocoa, and shrubs. Strickland (1951a) described it as essentially a West and Central African species, although it also occurs in East and South Africa. Wheeler (1922) also listed it from Benin (at Cotonou, F. Silvestri) and the "Slave Coast" - eastern Nigeria - western Cameroun.

Bernard (1952) reported findings from Guinea, Mt. Nimba area, several workers from Kéoulenta and N'Zo, noting that the specimens were of the small dark variety "nigellus" known from Congo.

Uncommon in Nigeria. Bolton (1981b, illustrated) lists CRIN (by himself) and Mokwa, (by C. Longhurst). Adenuga & Adeboyeku (1987) reported it attending mealybugs on cocoa. I found it at CRIN Block W22 on west edge vegetation, foraging in procession.

Found in Ghana cocoa. Strickland (1951a) described it as common locally in small areas (ca. 0.3 ha), very often being associated with Crematogaster ants, although he felt the association was due primarily to mocquerysi tending mealybugs. At CRIG, Strickland recorded it in 36 collections, cf. 778 for Crematogaster striatula. Leston (1973) described it as being of local importance with nests in the hollow branches of tree crowns. Room (1971) found it in fifteen of his collections from cocoa canopy and it features in his consideration of the cocoa mosaic - as being negatively associated with Camponotus niveosetosus (and by derivation with the dominant Crematogaster clariventris) and positively associated with Crematogaster striatula. Also from cocoa mistletoe (Room, 1975); and on cocoa at Kade, by Majer (1975). Two workers were collected by pkd from the canopy of Amelonado cocoa at CRIG by Bigger (1981a).

In Ivory Coast, before 1923, Lohier collected it at Jacqueville, see above. The biology was studied at Lamto by Lévieux (1976b), who gave the diet as being plant sap, seeds and predation on arthropods; and the nest size as some 65,000 adults.

Bolton (1981b) has other findings from Cameroun, at Nko'emvon (D. A. Jackson); and Benin, at Cotonou (F. Silvestri, 1913, in Santschi, 1914d).

A specimen from Zaïre (Wheeler, 1922) shown in Hölldobler & Wilson (1990, page 99) is crypteroceroides (as above) and not mocquerysi.

The photomontage of the holotype is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0101460
Collection Information: Specimen Code CASENT0101460; Locality Senegal: Dakar: [Dakar; Museum Paris Collection, Ernest André 1914]; Collection codes: ANTC3658 Collected by: Mocquerys.

A cotype of australis can be seen at http://mcz-28168.oeb.harvard.edu/mcz/FMPro?-DB=Image.fm&-Lay=web&-Format=images.htm&Species_ID=29397&-Find

The photomontage is of a media specimen from the Central African Republic, Dzanga-Sangha NP; Camp 3; 02°50’01.8" N 16°08’13.7" E 375m; 06.ii.2005, Lampe de 40watts classique au camp: 19h-23h; collector Philippe Annoyer . Other images can be seen in the folder at -