WORKER (drawn specimen) - TL 3.90 mm, HL 0.96, HW 1.03, SL 0.78,
PW 0.59 (in my guide as Crematogaster sjostedti Mayr)
Colour brown, gaster darker. Moderate striations on the lateral
mesonotum and propodeum. Relatively dense pilosity and moderately
abundant erect hairs. Profile of pro- and mesonotum convex,
propodeum on a lower level. Propodeal spines long, straight and
acute. Subpetiolar spine reduced or absent.
It seems quite clear that the synonymy given in Bolton (1995:
153), some of which derives from Santschi (1930b:
69), is far from satisfactory. The illustrations
provided by Arnold and photographs show major variations in, for
instance, length of propodeal spines, scapes and funiculus
segments, all being longer in gerstaeckeri than sjostedti.
Menozzi's (1930b) illustrated description and the specimens I
collected, drew and briefly described from Nigeria seem pretty
well matched and, I suggest, represent the type form of gerstaeckeri.
The photographed Cameroun 123 specimens also are a good match.
Thus, I have separated what appear from the literature to be two
distinct species - gerstaeckeri and
Crematogaster
sjostedti. The synonymy of the single species, "gerstaeckeri",
as given in Bolton's Catalogue (1995: 153) can be found at the end
of this page.
In Nigeria it nests in dead wood on trees, including
cocoa, where it was a rare finding, e.g. Onipe 1/1 Plot K. Tends
aphids.
Menozzi's (1930b) specimens were from Somalia,
suggesting that the main range is across the northern savannah of
sub-Saharan Africa. |
Crematogaster (Crematogaster) gerstaeckeri Dalla Torre
- synonymy etc as given in Bolton (1995).
See also my separation under
Crematogaster
sjostedti
 Type
location Kenya (Dalla Torre, 1892: 90, original
description but name replaced as unavailable cephalotes
Gerstaecker, 1871: 356; Menozzi, 1930b: 91, illustrated, all
forms); subspecies godefreyi (Forel, 1914d: 237, worker
from South Africa; junior synonym carininotum,
Santschi, 1917b: 279, worker,from Zimbabwe) ; rufescens
(Santschi, 1919b: 236, worker; Wheeler, 1922: 844) and zulu
(Santschi, 1920b: 15, worker & queen; Wheeler, 1922: 855) from
South Africa; infaceta (Santschi, 1916b: 498,
worker), inquieta (Santschi, 1928d: 65, worker), maledicta
(Forel, 1914d: 236, worker & queen), pudica (Santschi,
1916b: 499, worker; Santschi, 1930b: 69) from Zimbabwe;
kohliella (Forel, 1916: 409, worker; in Santschi, 1918d:
185)from Zaïre, St. Gabriel, by Kohl, and oraclum
(Forel, 1913b: 323, worker) from Zaïre,?Sankisia by
J. Bequaert; pulla (Santschi, 1914b: 94, worker; Wheeler,
1922: 844) from Kenya; sjostedti (Crematogaster
sjostedti Mayr, 1907b: 17, worker, reverted to the status of a
stirps of gerstaeckeri by Santschi, 1930b: 69; also var.
tricoloroides, Sanstchi, 1937a: 55, worker, from Kenya)
from Tanzania; all forms described (see Bolton, 1995).
Dalla Torre's (1892) renaming of cephalotes is at
 .
Menozzi's (1930b) illustrated description of all forms is at
and  .
Santschi's (1916b) description of bulawayensis is at
and
Arnold (1920a) gave an illustrated translation of bulawayensis;
this is at
 .
Arnold (1920a) gave a translation of carininotum, this is
at
 .
Arnold (1920a) gave a translation of foraminicipoides,
this is at
 .
Arnold (1920a) gave an illustrated translation of godfreyi,
this is at
 .
Arnold (1920a) gave a translation of infaceta and pudica,
this is at
 .
Arnold (1920a) gave an illustrated translation of maledicta,
this is at
 .
Arnold (1926) gave a translation of bulawayensis varieties
rufescens and zulu, this is at
 .
Santschi's (1928d) description of inquieta is at
 .
Forel's (1916) description of kohliella is at
14.
Santschi's (1937a) description of tricoloroides is at
15.
It seems quite clear that the synonymy, some of which derives
from Santschi (1930b:
69), is far from satisfactory. The illustrations
provided by Arnold show major variations in, for instance, length
of propodeal spines. Menozzi's (1930b) illustrated description and
the specimens I collected, drew and briefly described from Nigeria
seem pretty well matched and, I suggest, represent the type form.
The Cameroun 123 specimens also are a good match. |
Specimens
illustrated (right) were collected in Cameroun - 30 km
east of Poli at a Sudan-Guinea savannah location (McKey Wolbachia
project) - Cameroon 123, 15 June 2001. Other images can be seen in
the folder at - 
