Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) lycurgus Emery - new status

Type location Cameroun (Camponotus maculatus subsp. brutus For. var. Lycurgus, Emery, 1899e: 501, worker) .

Emery's (1899e) cursory description is at . Specimens were from Cameroun, "Ogoué" Gabon and Ivory Coast.

I have elevated this to full species status, taking the specimen shown below as a neotype. This is clearly larger than the type form of Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) brutus; the latter also has an abundance of erect hairs on the alitrunk. As described by Emery, it is of a similar colour to Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) solon but that has striated mandibles, whereas this has bright, shiny mandibles, and that also is smaller with a squarer head. The distnace between the frontal carinae is noticeably smaller in lycurgus and the scapes are more slender.

The photomontage is of a major specimen from Central African Republic, Dzanga-Sangha NP, 02°48’20.5" N 16°06’14.0" E 350m; Camp 1 to Camp 2; 28.01.2005, 11h-12h; collector Philippe Annoyer .

Other images can be seen in the folder at - .